Jaishankar discusses trade, global and regional issues with Swiss counterpart

Geneva: 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.

He also dedicated the newly built state-of-the-art Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, which houses India's missions dealing with the UN and other International Organisations, the Conference on Disarmament, the World Trade Organisation, and the Consulate General of India, the statement said.

He also dedicated a statue of Dr Bhimrao Ambekar, the key architect of India’s Constitution, at the Permanent Mission here.

He honoured Indian reformer and educator Hansa Mehta by naming a hall in her memory at the mission.

Mehta served as the Indian delegate to the UN Commission on Human Rights from 1947 to 1948 and is known for ensuring a more gender-sensitive language in the landmark Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

He also planted a tree under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative.

He interacted with a large gathering of the Indian community and Friends of India at the Permanent Mission. He highlighted rapid strides made by India and India’s vision of engaging with the world.

He also delivered a talk on "Global Tectonics: The Indian View of a World in Churn” at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), which was attended by a cross-section of people in Geneva, including from the diplomatic community, academia, think tanks, student community and the Indian diaspora, the statement said.