Modi in Geneva: PM meets President of Swiss Federation Johann Schneider-Ammann; black money on agenda

Geneva (Switzerland): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a meeting with President of Swiss Confederation Johann Schneider Ammann in Geneva.

A late night arrival is followed by an early morning engagement.PM @narendramodi meets Swiss Prez Schneider-Ammann pic.twitter.com/ZcO8EAy0xm

— Vikas Swarup (@MEAIndia) June 6, 2016

PM @narendramodi lands in Geneva, marking the start of his Switzerland visit. pic.twitter.com/hUJFdnhsvu — PMO India (@PMOIndia) June 5, 2016

The discussions between the two leaders are expected to focus on bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual interest.

Prime Minister Modi is likely to raise the issue of black money stashed by Indians in Swiss banks.

He is also likely to seek Switzerland's support for India's membership of the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) as it is a key member of the elite grouping.

Delegation level talks also will be held between the two sides on the occasion.

Besides, the Prime Minister will interact with a select group of Switzerland business leaders during his short visit.

Prime Minister Modi reached Geneva late last night on the third leg of his five-nation tour after his visit to Afghanistan and Qatar.

All eyes are on Geneva as the top leaders of India, a strong believer in the Non-alignment and Switzerland, a traditionally neutral nation are meeting this morning.

The hopes on the outcome of bilateral discussions are high as an Indian Prime Minister is visiting Switzerland for the first time on a state visit almost after five decades.

The support of Switzerland for India getting the entry into the NSG is crucial as a high level NSG meeting is scheduled later during the month to finalise new memberships.

The visit gains significance as India seeks for membership so that it will ensure access to technology through that, India can meet its climate change commitments with clean energy and stability and the ease of doing business, irrespective of the political dispensation.

The Prime Minister is likely to raise with the Swiss authorities about the black money accounts and the two countries are working on finalising an arrangement that could pave the way for automatic exchange of information on tax-related issues.

Through his interaction with the Swiss business leaders, Prime Minister Modi is likely to boost confidence levels of investors in India. Human resource development matters such as encouraging Swiss Model of learning as part of the human resources development initiatives also likely to come up during the bilateral discussions.

Prime Minister Modi will reach Washington later in the evening after completing his tour of Afghanistan, Qatar and Switzerland.

This is Prime Minister's fourth visit to the United States.

The main objective of the visit would be to consolidate the progress made in diverse areas such as economy, energy, environment, defence, security and above all to intensify cooperation for the future.

(With agency inputs)