Piyush Goyal, Swiss Delegation Discuss New Pharma Investment Opportunities in India

India’s work with EFTA countries, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, has gathered pace since the India-EFTA TEPA came into effect on October 1.

Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has recently met Helene Budliger Artieda, State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Switzerland, to discuss fresh opportunities for investments in India’s pharmaceutical sector. Artieda is visiting India with a Swiss pharma and biotech delegation.

Goyal said on X, “Co-chaired a meeting with SECO_StateSec Helene Budliger Artieda with Swiss pharma and biotech companies. Discussions focused on avenues of further cooperation in R&D and expanding investment opportunities for Swiss pharma companies to leverage India’s robust healthcare sector.”

He added that the meeting also reviewed progress under the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), with an aim to strengthen collaboration across key sectors.

In a post on X, Artieda said she held a “constructive exchange with Secretary of Finance Anuradha Thakur on accelerating negotiations towards a Bilateral Investment Treaty”. She described it as “A crucial agreement for our investors!”

Swiss Ambassador to India, Maya Tissafi, wrote on X that Artieda’s meeting with Goyal focuses on strengthening “the regulatory framework and deepening cooperation”. She noted that these steps are important for new investments and for setting TEPA fully in motion.

India’s work with EFTA countries, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein, has gathered pace since the India-EFTA TEPA came into effect on October 1.

The agreement, signed on March 10 last year in New Delhi, covers market access for goods, services, trade facilitation, investment promotion, intellectual property rights, and sustainable development.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, an EFTA Desk has been operational since February this year as a single-window mechanism to support EFTA businesses in investing, expanding, and establishing operations in India.

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