This article covers how diplomatic relations between India and Switzerland were established, the visits exchanged at the level of heads of state, heads of government and ministers, the consultations between the two foreign ministries and the main political agreements. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief on India-Switzerland relations dated 24 June 2026.

Establishment of relations

According to the MEA brief of June 2026, India and Switzerland have had cordial and friendly relations since India's Independence, based on shared values of democracy and rule of law. The brief adds that India's policy of non-alignment and Switzerland's traditional policy of neutrality led to a close understanding between the two countries.

Diplomatic relations were established with the signing of the Treaty of Friendship at New Delhi on 14 August 1948. The brief describes it as one of the first such treaties signed by independent India. The treaty came into force on 05 May 1949.

The Joint Statement issued during the 2017 visit of Swiss President Mrs. Doris Leuthard described India-Switzerland ties as "a long standing dynamic partnership". The brief states that bilateral ties achieved new heights following the visits to Switzerland of the President of India in September 2019 and of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2016 and 2018, and the Swiss President's visit to India in 2017.

Visits by Presidents and Prime Ministers

The brief lists the following visits by Swiss Presidents to India:

  • President Mr. Flavio Cotti, 1998, the first ever visit by a Swiss President to India
  • President Mr. Pascal Couchepin, 6-12 November 2003
  • President Mrs. Micheline Calmy Rey, 5-7 November 2007
  • President Mrs. Doris Leuthard, 30 August-2 September 2017
  • President Mr. Guy Parmelin, 19-20 February 2026

It lists these visits to Switzerland by the President or Prime Minister of India:

  • President Shri V.V. Giri, 1975
  • Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda, January 1997, for the World Economic Forum (WEF)
  • President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, May 2005
  • President Mrs. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, 30 September to 4 October 2011
  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, 5-6 June 2016
  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, January 2018, for the WEF
  • President Shri Ram Nath Kovind, 11-15 September 2019

The Prime Minister's visits of 2016 and 2018

Prime Minister Modi's 2016 visit to Geneva was an official stopover visit. The brief calls it historic, as the first bilateral visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Switzerland since 1997. His engagements included a meeting with Swiss President Mr. Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, a Business Round Table with Switzerland's top companies and a meeting with Indian research scholars based at CERN.

The year 2018 was designated "India's year" at Davos, and the Prime Minister delivered a keynote address at the opening session of the WEF. On the bilateral front, he met Swiss President Mr. Alain Berset. They discussed cooperation in areas such as the India-EFTA TEPA, tax information, renewable energy, the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and Ayurveda.

Meetings since 2023

Prime Minister Modi held a bilateral meeting with President Berset on 1 December 2023 on the sidelines of COP-28 in Dubai. The two leaders discussed ways to further deepen their partnership, including cooperation in trade and investment, technology, health, education, IT, tourism and people-to-people ties.

Swiss President Mr. Guy Parmelin paid a two-day visit to India on 19-20 February 2026 to take part in the AI Impact Summit, 2026 in New Delhi. During the visit he held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi, who welcomed Switzerland's initiative to host the next AI Summit.

On 16 June 2026, Prime Minister Modi had a brief interaction with President Parmelin on his arrival at Geneva airport. The Prime Minister was en route to Evian, France, for the G7 Summit.

Ministerial and parliamentary visits

The brief also lists visits at ministerial and parliamentary level. Visits concerned mainly with trade, science or sectoral cooperation are described in the other articles of this guide.

Incoming visits with a political focus include:

  • Foreign Minister Dr. Ignazio Cassis, 10 August 2018 and 5 February 2024
  • a five-member Foreign Affairs Committee delegation from the Swiss Council of States, on its first official visit, to Mumbai and New Delhi from 27 November-1 December 2023
  • Swiss State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mr. Alexandre Fasel, who attended the Raisina Dialogue held on 05-07 March 2026 and had a bilateral meeting with Secretary (West), MEA

Swiss Vice President and Federal Councillor for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications Ms. Simonetta Sommaruga paid a working visit to India from 18-21 October 2019. She held meetings with the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, New and Renewable Energy, with the Minister for Railways and for Commerce and Industry, and with the Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs (I/C) and Civil Aviation (I/C). She had also visited from 5-7 October 2016.

Earlier incoming visits named in the brief include those of Foreign Minister Ms. Micheline Anne-Marie Calmy-Rey in August 2010, Federal Councillor for Home Mr. Alain Berset on 1-3 October 2012, Federal Councillor for Environment, Transport, Energy & Communications Mrs. Doris Leuthard on 18-20 October 2012, and Foreign Minister Mr. Didier Burkhalter on 11-12 November 2013. A four-member Swiss Parliamentary delegation visited on 12 February 2016, and Mr. Nik Gugger, MP, visited from 7-15 November 2018.

On the Indian side, Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Geneva from 11-14 September 2024 and held delegation-level talks with Swiss Federal Councillor of Foreign Affairs Mr. Ignazio Cassis. The two met again on 25 September 2024 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Earlier outgoing visits in the brief include those of Minister for Road Transport & Highways Shri Kamal Nath on 11-12 August 2009, and an 18-member Indian Parliamentary Goodwill delegation led by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Water Resources Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal on 1-4 April 2010. Lok Sabha Speaker Smt. Meira Kumar visited on 16-17 July 2010 and 16-19 October 2011, and Minister of State (IC) for Sports & Youth Affairs Shri Jitender Singh on 14-15 May 2013.

India at the World Economic Forum

The Indian delegation to the WEF annual meeting in Davos from 19-23 January 2026, which the brief describes as the largest-ever, was led by Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics and Information Technology Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw. It included Union Ministers Sh. Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi and Sh. Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Chief Ministers from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, Deputy Chief Ministers from Gujarat and Karnataka, and Ministers from Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

Shri Vaishnaw also led the official delegation to the meeting of 20-24 January 2025. During that meeting the Embassy of India adopted "Five Days - Five Themes at WEF Davos 2025", with lounges on Trade & Investment, Incredible India, Yoga and Ayurveda, Indian Tea, ODOP and GI tagged products, and Make In India.

Foreign Office Consultations

The Secretary-level Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) were established in 1996, and the first round took place in 2000. The 12th round was held in Berne in December 2023.

The latest round, the 13th, was held in New Delhi on 13 February 2025. It was co-chaired by Sh. Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West), MEA and the Swiss State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, with Mr. Alexandre Fasel leading the Swiss delegation.

The two countries also maintain a Joint Economic Commission, a Financial Dialogue, a Joint Committee on Science & Technology, a Consular Dialogue and Joint Working Groups on railways and on climate change and environment. These are described in the relevant articles of this guide.

The brief's table of bilateral agreements begins with the 1948 Treaty of Friendship and runs to 2025. Apart from the treaty, the entries dealing with political, legal and governance matters are:

  • Exchange of letters on mutual assistance in criminal matters, 1989
  • MoU on Mutual Cooperation in Local Governance, 2011

Agreements on trade, taxation and investment, on science, railways, climate and humanitarian relief, on culture and education, and on visas, social security and air services are covered in the other articles of this guide.