Indian President Prathibha Patil on State Visit to Switzerland

Indian President Prathibha Patil has been on a two days state visit in Switzerland. She started the official program of her visit in Bern (seat of the Swiss federal government) and continued through Lausanne to Geneva from where she left for a state visit to Austria.

Prathibha Patil and Micheline Calmy-Rey

Indian President Prathibha Patil began her two days state visit to Switzerland in Bern. On Bern‘s Parliament Square, the 76-year-old President and her husband were welcomed by the Federal Council with military honours. The Federal Council is Switzerland’s government composed of its seven ministers. In the morning, Patil and her delegation had taken a private tour of the historic centre of Bern.

The President of India’s tour included visits to the bears in the Bärengraben, the Rosengarten, the Cathedral of Saint Vincent and the Clock Tower. Earlier in the afternoon, Prathibha Patil had been privately greeted by Micheline Calmy-Rey at the Hotel Bellevue where they exchanged gifts customary for state visits.

After the official reception, the Indian President and her entourage were welcomed into the Bundeshaus. The Bundeshaus is the seat of the government and the parliament of Switzerland. Topics of the state visit are bilateral talks in the areas of finance and economy. Among other things, both countries have been negotiating on a free trade agreement since 2008. It should be completed by end of the year.

Switzerland and India have maintained intensive economic relations for many years. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), India is the fourth most important trading partner for Switzerland in Asia. India's economy grew by 10.4 percent in 2010. The IMF has forecast a 8.2 percent growth for 2011. Swiss direct investment in India amounted to 3.3 billion Swiss francs in late 2009 or 0.4 percent of total Swiss investment abroad.

According to the Chamber of Commerce Switzerland-India, direct investments are only the tip of the iceberg. Swiss companies have invested considerably more in India. An estimated 170 Swiss companies have a presence in India and employ about 60,000 people. Swiss companies in India also do pioneering work in developing a dual vocational training system following the Swiss educational system.

In the morning of the second day, Prathibha Patil and Micheline Calmy-Rey received business representatives at the Hotel Bellevue in Bern. The Indian President, who was accompanied by a 45-member business delegation, stressed in her speech that the target of their visit was to intensify the bilateral economic relations between the two countries.

The Swiss President in turn mentioned the dynamic rhythm in the economic relations and invited Indian companies to use Switzerland as a gateway into the European market. That the economic potential is far from exhausted was stressed by Valentin Vogt, President of the Swiss Employers' Association and a member of the Executive Committee of Economiesuisse. The potential could be even further expanded by means a free-trade agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) to which Switzerland belongs. The negotiations on just such an agreement are currently held and are reported to be in an intensive phase.

Following the business meeting, the two presidents travelled to Lausanne where they were welcomed by representatives of the University of Lausanne. The President of India and the Swiss Federal President were present at the signing of an agreement between the University of Lausanne and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations on Indian studies to be offered at the university.

Thanks to this memorandum of understanding, Indian professors will take turns in teaching for one semester at a time at the University of Lausanne. Rector Dominique Arlettaz welcomed the signing of the memorandum for offering the students greatly expanded courses related to India. The chair is funded almost exclusively by India.

After attending the University of Lausanne, Prathibha Patil boarded the paddle steamer La Suisse in Morges and proceeded to Geneva in style accompanied by Micheline Calmy-Rey. The President of India then flew from Geneva to Austria for a further state visit.

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