EAM discusses trade, global issues with Swiss counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held wide-ranging discussions with his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis on bilateral ties, with a focus on leveraging the trade agreement between India and four-nation European bloc EFTA, which includes Switzerland, the MEA said on Saturday.

Jaishankar was here on a two-day visit which concluded on Friday. In a special gesture, Cassis hosted Jaishankar in Geneva, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

“The two leaders held wide-ranging discussions on bilateral ties, with a special focus on leveraging the Free Trade Agreement between India and EFTA States (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Principality of Liechtenstein) to boost trade and investments,” the statement said.

India in March signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) under which New Delhi received a USD 100 billion investment commitment from these four European countries.

During the meeting, Jaishankar and Cassis also discussed global and regional issues of mutual interest.

During his visit, Jaishankar interacted with the leadership of international organisations in Geneva-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and the Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

He shared India's approach to multilateralism, our perspectives on the evolution of human rights, the current global human rights situation, and ways to address various challenges to the human rights ecosystem.

He also discussed ways to deepen cooperation in public health and promote traditional medicine systems globally.