Immense scope for collaboration between India, Switzerland: Prez

From Berne to Bengaluru, and from research labs to manufacturing floors, India and Switzerland have immense scope to collaborate with Switzerland in various sectors, especially in science and technology, President Ram Nath Kovind said on Thursday.

Addressing students at the prestigious University of Berne, President Kovind spoke on new age' partnership between Switzerland and India and areas of cooperation in different sectors.

"It is an expansive theme. It is natural to be so, for we live in the digital age. The markers of these times are green growth, blue economy, climate change, artificial intelligence, innovation and smart solutions," said Kovind, who is here on the second leg of his three-nation tour to Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia.

"From Berne to Bengaluru, and from research labs to manufacturing floors, much work is being done in these domains. A lot more will happen as we cruise into the machine-intelligence age. Indo-Swiss future engagements will increasingly be defined by these factors and forces. And as we prepare to build our future partnerships, we will continue to derive inspiration and strength from our past and contemporary partnerships as well as our foundational principles."
"We metaphorically describe the deep foundational connection between the Indian and Swiss thought and values as the Connection between the Alps and the Himalayas'. The energy of these mountains has ever drawn our people closer."
He said that opportunities for the two countries to collaborate and connect are immense. "India is aiming to become a 5 trillion dollar economy. More importantly, our blue print for growth is to build next-generation infrastructure, smart cities and digital i-ways, powered increasingly by clean and green energy. And that is where our new-age partnership strikes the chord."
"Our challenge, in India, is how to produce quality food with less input and less water. We have made a beginning with new forms of agriculture-from employing hydroponics to using solar pumps. But we want to do more, to double our farm income and to strengthen our food security."
"We have taken the lead on the International Solar Alliance to promote solar energy worldwide. So far, 75 countries have become its member. We look forward to Switzerland joining the Alliance soon. Our joint work on Glaciology is helping us understand the impact of climate change on the Alpine and Himalayan ecosystems. As a result of our collaboration, all the 12 Indian Himalayan states have worked out their climate vulnerability maps."