Minister Piyush Goyal asks Swiss firms to invest in India

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has asked Swiss companies to invest in India as several sectors hold huge potential, an official statement said on Tuesday.

The minister was on an official visit to Switzerland at the invitation of his Swiss counterpart Federal Councillor Guy Parmelin.

"The two ministers had engaging and fruitful discussions with prominent Swiss and Indian captains of industry over the breakfast meeting on July 15," the commerce ministry said.

He encouraged Swiss companies to become part of India's growth story and invest in its growing and dynamic market.

A 12-member Indian business delegation also had networking opportunities with Swiss entrepreneurs.

The key objectives of the visit were to discuss next steps for the implementation of the historic India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) which was signed on March 10.

Switzerland ranks as India's 20th largest trading partner globally with bilateral trade of USD 21 billion in 2023.

It is also the 12th largest investor in India with cumulative FDI of about USD 10 billion during April 2000 to March 2024.

There are over 330 Swiss companies operating in India, and they have created over 1,66,000 jobs in India.

Many of these companies have their manufacturing facilities and R&D centres in India.