Switzerland extends support to strengthen India's fight against terrorism

Switzerland on Friday extended its support to India to strengthen its fight against terrorism in all its manifestations as President Ram Nath Kovind held talks with his Swiss counterpart Ueli Maurer and conveyed to him that his country has been a victim of state sponsored terrorism for decades.

During the delegation-level talks led by Kovind and Maurer, the two sides agreed that terrorism poses a grave challenge to humanity, the President's Secretariat tweeted.

In an apparent reference to Pakistan, Kovind conveyed to the Swiss delegation that India has been a victim of state sponsored terrorism for decades.

"The Swiss side extended its support to strengthen fight against terrorism in all its manifestations," the President's Secretariat said.

India and Switzerland also expressed a strong commitment to strengthen economic and techonology ties.

The two countries also signed three agreements on technical cooperation on climate change, science and technology alliance and the renewal of Hindi Chair at the University of Lausanne.

Later addressing the India-Switzerland Business Roundtable, Kovind said Indian and Swiss startups should collaborate to add value to each other.

"We are home to the third largest Start-up network in the world with over 21,000 enterprises. Our 30 unicorns are valued at over 90 billion US dollars. Swiss Start-up ecosystem is equally impressive. We must join hands and add value to each other," he said.

The president noted that Swiss business is increasingly engaging India.

"Today, there are over 250 Swiss companies present in India. It includes different business models - from sales to manufacturing for exports to third countries. This operational diversity reflects the confidence of Swiss investors in the Indian economy," Kovind said.

Switzerland is home to high-end technology and India is producing world class human capital, he said, adding, the "two economies are highly complementary".

"There is vast scope to combine our relative advantages in capital, technology, science and skills for mutual benefit. We have received Swiss participation in our flagship Make in India, Smart Cities, Digital India, Clean India, Startup India and Skill India programmes," Kovind said, welcoming Swiss companies to further invest and engage in India's transformation and growth.

Kovind, who reached Berne on Thursday, is on the second leg of his nine-day three-nation tour to Iceland, Switzerland and Slovenia.