SME Times News Bureau | 01 Apr, 2010
India and Switzerland on Wednesday agreed to step up their economic ties when Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Ray rang up her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna.
"The ministers reiterated their resolve to further strengthen the excellent bilateral ties which exist between the two countries, particularly in the areas of economy and commerce and allied fields," the external affairs ministry said.
Krishna invited Calmy-Ray for a bilateral visit to India.
"The visit would help both sides review the areas of cooperation and identify new sectors for enlarging the engagement between the two countries," the ministry said.
Switzerland is increasingly looking at India as "a rising economic power" and has backed its efforts to develop civil nuclear energy.
Bilateral trade has reached $3 billion, but both sides believe that it's just a fraction of the potential that exists.
The two sides are also keen to work out a free trade area agreement to give impetus to their burgeoning economic ties.
The proposed trade agreement will be part of an economic pact being negotiated between the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA) with Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein and India.
