India, Switzerland identify areas of cooperation in defence, nuclear energy: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Swiss President Guy Parmelin at a joint press conference at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on October 5, 2026. | Photo credit: ANI

India and Switzerland have identified new opportunities for cooperation in the fields of defense and nuclear energy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after a bilateral meeting with Swiss President Guy Parmelin on Monday (Oct 5, 2026).

The agreements signed by the two sides included one to extend the validity of visas and student permits.

Mr. Parmelin is on a three-day visit to India to commemorate the first anniversary of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between India and the four-nation European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which entered into force on October 1, 2025.

Invitation of Swiss infra investment

“Today we have identified new opportunities for cooperation in military exchanges and defense production,” Mr. Modi said in a statement after the meeting. “We also agreed on further deepening of cooperation in nuclear energy.”

The two countries also signed an agreement on transport, mobility and infrastructure. “We encourage Swiss infrastructure companies to invest in India on a large scale and participate in capacity building, design and manufacturing,” Mr. Modi said.

“Investment Protection Agreement Needed”

Mr. Parmelin is accompanied by a large business delegation, which underlines the desire of the Swiss business community to make the most of TEPA. However, the Swiss president noted that there are unfinished aspects that will spur further investment once completed.

“In order to continue to stimulate investment, Switzerland hopes to quickly conclude an investment protection agreement,” Parmelin said. “In this context, it is equally important to achieve results in discussions on the protection of intellectual property.”

Longer visas, student permits

The two countries signed five agreements, including memorandums of understanding (MoU) and letters of intent (LoI), across a range of sectors, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The Memorandum of Understanding on Partnership on Migration and Mobility “is aimed at developing cooperation in the field of migration and mobility based on the principles of equal treatment and to prevent and combat illegal migration/human exploitation/trafficking in accordance with national laws,” the MEA said. “It provides multiple entry visas for up to 5 years, including stays of up to 6 months on each visit, and renewable one-year student permits,” he added.

The agreement on the exchange of young professionals applies to young people who take up temporary employment in another country in order to improve their professional and language skills in their field. This agreement includes the exchange of 300 people a year in each country, which “may” increase to 500, among other things.

Research and innovation

The Swiss Federal Ministry of Economy, Education and Research and the Indian Ministry of Road Transport and Highways have signed a memorandum of understanding on support and cooperation in the field of transport technology, mobility systems and infrastructure in designated areas.

An LoI has been signed between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Swiss National Science Foundation to promote long-term collaboration between the Indian and Swiss research communities.

DST has also signed an implementation agreement with Zurich University of Applied Sciences on cooperation in innovation, technology transfer and entrepreneurship.

Published – 05 Oct 2026 18:35 IST