India has stepped up efforts to deepen its economic relationship with Switzerland, with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal engaging top Swiss businesses in Bern to advance bilateral trade and investment opportunities. As part of his visit, Goyal chaired discussions with leading Swiss corporations, encouraging them to view India as a strategic hub for manufacturing, talent, and innovation. The engagements come on the heels of the recently signed Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), positioning India for expanded collaboration across multiple industries.
The Minister met senior executives from Swiss companies across diverse sectors, including biotechnology, precision engineering, healthcare, defense, and emerging technologies. Discussions centered on technology transfer, innovation, and sustainable manufacturing, with a strong emphasis on leveraging India’s growing market dynamics. Goyal assured the business leaders of India’s commitment to transparent regulatory frameworks, intellectual property protection, and investment-friendly policies.
In dedicated sectoral roundtables hosted with support from the Indian Embassy in Switzerland, Goyal emphasized India’s strengths in scale, affordability, and innovation. He invited Swiss businesses to take advantage of India’s EFTA Desk at Invest India, a specialized facilitation unit designed to guide investors through market entry and regulatory processes. Stressing India’s openness to regulatory harmonization and mutual recognition agreements, he underscored the country’s willingness to create seamless bridges for Swiss enterprises.
Beyond industry interactions, Goyal also engaged with members of the Switzerland Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), commending their role in bolstering professional ties between the two nations.
Swiss companies expressed strong confidence in India’s economic trajectory, lauding its vast market potential, world-class engineering talent, and pro-business policies. Many firms signaled active interest in forming joint ventures, scaling operations, and localizing production to serve domestic and international markets. From cancer therapies and fiber optics to automation and space technologies, Swiss businesses conveyed a sense of long-term strategic alignment, viewing India as an essential part of their global expansion plans.
With momentum building under the TEPA framework, Goyal’s Swiss outreach reinforces India’s ambition to position itself not just as a lucrative investment destination but as a global hub for innovation and industrial collaboration.
