New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Switzerland's President Guy Parmelin will be on a State Visit to India from October 5-7 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

President Parmelin and PM Modi will hold discussions on October 5, where they will review progress in bilateral cooperation across various sectors, including trade and investment, science, technology and innovation, mobility, culture and people-to-people contact. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global developments, including cooperation in multilateral fora, according to a statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Parmelin will meet President Droupadi Murmu, who will host an official banquet in his honour. External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar will also call on President Parmelin during his visit to India.

For his visit to India, President Parmelin will be accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising senior officials and business leaders. This will be President Parmelin’s first State Visit to India and second this year. He had earlier visited India to attend the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February.

"This visit of President Parmelin assumes added significance in view of his participation in the 2nd India–EFTA Prosperity Summit on 07 October 2026 to mark the first anniversary of the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) coming into force. Among EFTA countries, Switzerland is the largest trade and investment partner of India," the MEA stated.

"India and Switzerland share longstanding friendly relations. This visit will further strengthen bilateral relations, building upon the regular high-level exchanges and deepen cooperation in new areas of mutual interest," the statement added.

In June, Parmelin welcomed PM Modi at the Geneva airport when he was heading to France's Evian to participate in the G7 Summit.

According to the MEA, PM Modi and Parmelin exchanged warm greetings and reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties.

Earlier in February, PM Modi and President Parmelin held a meeting on the sidelines of AI Action Summit in New Delhi and discussed strengthening collaboration between the two nations in the economic sphere, including trade, investment and technology, especially with the implementation of the India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) that came into effect in October 2025.

--IANS

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