India gets Switzerland's nod for membership to NSG

The Dollar Business Bureau

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday held a bilateral meeting with the Swiss President Johann Schneider-Ammann to discuss and strengthen bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and underscored that combating problems of tax evasion and black money will be the two countries’ top priority.

“We discussed the need for an early and expeditious exchange of information to bring to justice the tax offenders,” Modi said after holding bilateral discussions with the Swiss President.

“Combating the menace of black money and tax evasion will be India and Switzerland’s joint priority,” he said.

Modi arrived in Switzerland early Monday on his third leg of a five-nation tour, after his visit to Afghanistan and Qatar. From here, the Prime Minister will travel to the US and then to Mexico.

“India's economy is growing rapidly. The coming together of our development needs and Swiss strengths can be beneficial,” he said in a tweet.

India is keen on an automatic exchange of data about individuals who do not disclose their foreign assets to discourage stashing of ill-gotten wealth abroad.

The two countries have for long been discussing the black money issue, as part of negotiations for their double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) mandate.

A joint statement underscored that an early start to negotiations on the automatic exchange of information will be key in this aspect.

“India and Switzerland have both been the voices of peace, understanding and humanitarian values in the world. We see a perfect connect between our development needs and Swiss strengths. I invite Swiss companies to partner India's economic growth,” a joint statement said.

In what is going to be a boost to India’s aspirations of being a member of the nuclear suppliers group (NSG), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received Switzerland's nod for New Delhi's membership to the NSG.

Switzerland is already a member of the NSG, and Prime Minister was seeking the European country’s assistance to gain entry into the 48-member NSG.

Modi also thanked Swiss President for understanding and supporting India’s bid for NSG membership.