Swiss business community eager for PM Modi's visit

India's Ambassador to Switzerland Sibi George on Sunday said that the business community in Switzerland is looking forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country.

Prime Minister Modi will be on a two-day visit to Switzerland from January 22-23 for the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit that is scheduled to be held on January 23 in Davos-Klosters.

Speaking to ANI Indian Ambassador George said, "First time since 1997 an Indian Prime Minister is attending the event. Our Prime Minister is holding inaugural keynote address. The business community in Switzerland looking forward to hear his speech."

George emphasised that India is transforming at a fast rate, which is a good thing for the business community all over the world.

"In 1997 when we attended at the Prime Ministerial level, India was a much smaller economy. Today, India is transforming so fast. It's a phenomenal thing well appreciated by business community all over the world," he said.

The Indian Ambassador also mentioned that two Yog-gurus have arrived here from India, who will be giving training sessions here.

"Yoga an important element, this time we introduced. There's a connection of Himalayas with the Alps. Two famous Gurus have come from India and they're going to train in one of the sessions in the Alps and one in the city of Davos during the summit," he added.

Prime Minister Modi will host a dinner for the leading global chief executive officers at the WEF Summit in Davos on January 22.

Industrial Policy and Promotion (IPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said, "Our Prime Minister will host a dinner with the global chief executive officers, along with the Indian CEOs on January 22."

"At least 60 participants will participate - with big names such as Airbus and Toyota. In this session, Prime Minister Modi will address the business opportunities in India, which will benefit the economy", he added.

Prime Minister Modi will also chair a session of around 120 members of the International Business Forum (IBF), which would be held on the sidelines of the WEF summit.

The Prime Minister will also meet with the President of Switzerland, Alain Berset, during his one-day visit.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (MoS) Dr. Jitendra Singh and MoS, External Affairs M.J Akbar will also visit Davos and hold various sessions during the WEF summit.

The theme for this year's WEF summit is - "Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World".

Also, this is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the summit, since former Prime Minister H. Deve Gowda's visit in 1997.