Geneva/New Delhi, Sep 14 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who was visiting Geneva, Switzerland, from Sep 12-13, held talks with Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Daniele Giovanni Cassis during which the two held discussions on the Free Trade Agreement between India and EFTA States.

During the meeting, the two leaders held wide ranging discussions on bilateral ties, with special focus on leveraging the Free Trade Agreement between India and EFTA States (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Principality of Liechtenstein) to boost trade and investments. The leaders also discussed global and regional issues of mutual interest, a statement said.
During his visit, EAM interacted with the leadership of International Organisations in Geneva, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, and the Director General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He shared India’s approach to multilateralism, our perspectives on the evolution of human rights, current global human rights situation, and ways to address various challenges to the human rights ecosystem. He also discussed ways to deepen cooperation in public health and promote Traditional Medicine systems globally.
EAM dedicated the newly built state-of-the-art Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, which houses our Missions dealing with the UN and other International Organizations, Conference on Disarmament, World Trade Organization, and the Consulate General of India. EAM also dedicated a statue of Dr. Bhimrao Ambekar at the Permanent Mission, and named a hall in memory of Smt. Hansa Mehta, who played a key role in promoting gender equality during the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He also planted a tree under the ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ initiative.
Subsequently, EAM interacted with a large gathering of the Indian Community and Friends of India at the Permanent Mission. He highlighted rapid strides made by India and India’s vision of engaging with the world.
EAM delivered a talk on "Global Tectonics: The Indian View of a World in Churn” at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), which was attended by a cross section of people in Geneva, including from the diplomatic community, academia, think tanks, student community and the Indian diaspora, the statement added.
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