Piyush Goyal sets TEPA roadmap, urges Swiss industry to tap India’s growth

Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has laid out a forward-looking action plan for implementing the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) during high-level meetings with Swiss leadership.

The plan places innovation, regulatory alignment, and skill development at the core of the future collaboration, the commerce ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Goyal, currently on a five-day official visit to Switzerland and Sweden to bolster economic and trade ties with key European partners, addressed over 1,000 delegates at the 18th Swissmem Industry Day on Tuesday.

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He invited Switzerland’s mechanical and precision industries to deepen their engagement with India during his two-day visit to the country.

“During the visit, Goyal held productive meetings with top leadership from the Swiss government and industry, aimed at reinforcing strategic synergies and unlocking new avenues for trade, investment, and innovation-led growth,” the statement said.

“He met with federal councillor Guy Parmelin, head of the federal department of economic affairs, education and research (EAER), and state secretary Helene Budliger Artieda to chart a forward-looking roadmap for TEPA implementation. Discussions focused on regulatory cooperation, skills development, innovation partnerships, and mechanisms to facilitate faster investment decision-making,” it added.

Trade deals

Last March, India and the four-nation EFTA signed a free trade deal to integrate and strengthen supply chains, attract investments and generate new business opportunities.

The EFTA comprises Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.

The EFTA has also made a binding commitment to invest $100 billion in India and create one million direct jobs in the next 15 years.

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The TEPA with the EFTA was the third major trade deal finalized by the Modi government since early 2022, after signing separate bilateral agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia.

India has since then completed a trade agreement with the UK and is in the process of completing one with the European Union and the US.

Meanwhile, during his latest visit to Switzerland, Goayl engaged extensively with Swiss industry leaders across sectors, including biotech and pharma, healthcare, precision engineering, defence, and emerging technologies.

In his sectoral roundtables and bilateral meetings, he highlighted India’s growing economic strength, policy stability, and the government’s commitment to creating a conducive and facilitative ecosystem for global investors, the commerce ministry said.

“In his keynote address, Goyal invited Swiss companies, including SMEs and deep-tech innovators, to scale up investments in India by leveraging the new trade architecture offered by the TEPA,” the statement said.

“He spoke about India’s demographic dividend, globally recognised engineering talent, and robust supply chains, encouraging Swiss industry to anchor R&D, establish local manufacturing bases, and co-create technologies for the Global South,” it added.

A standout moment from the visit was the swift resolution of a facilitation request by Endress+Hauser, a global process automation firm with expanding operations in India, the ministry said.

The company flagged an issue regarding land availability near its Maharashtra facility, it said, adding that within hours, the matter was resolved through coordinated action by Goyal and Indian authorities—an outcome industry leaders hailed as a model of responsive and investor-friendly governance.

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In Sweden, Goyal will co-chair the 21st Session of the Indo-Swedish Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial, and Scientific Cooperation (JCEISC) alongside Benjamin Dousa, minister for international development cooperation and foreign trade.

He is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with minister Dousa and state secretary Hakan Jevrell to strengthen the already robust economic partnership and explore new avenues for collaboration, in line with India’s long-term growth ambitions and global strategic priorities.