Mr Nussbaumer conducted three meetings while in Geneva. He met first with his Indian counterpart, speaker of the Lok Sabha (House of the People) Om Birla. Their talks focused on bilateral and multilateral cooperation and the free trade agreement (FTA) that the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) signed with India in Delhi on 10 March after 16 years of negotiations. The Federal Council adopted a dispatch on the free trade agreement between the EFTA states and India on 4 September, and the chambers of the Swiss parliament will debate the agreement in their winter 2024 and spring 2025 sessions. Switzerland and the other EFTA states are the first European partners to conclude an FTA with India.
India is one of Switzerland's principal partners in Asia. Regular high-level meetings and visits have strengthened relations between the two countries. Switzerland and India have signed numerous bilateral agreements in sectors such as trade, development cooperation, education and vocational training, visas, migration, air traffic, investment, finance, taxation and scientific and technological cooperation. In 2023 Switzerland and India celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship signed between the two countries on 14 August 1948.
Talks with the president of the Côte d’Ivoire National Assembly president Adama Bictogo focused on bilateral and economic relations, the international situation and multilateral cooperation. Mr Nussbaumer and Mr Bictogo also discussed scientific collaboration, for example at the Swiss Center for Scientific Research in Côte d'Ivoire (CSRS) in Abidjan, which is an important actor in tropical research. They assessed the situation in West Africa and Côte d’Ivoire’s role in the region, as well as the twinning agreement between Basel and Abidjan’s most populous suburb, Yopougon, where Mr Bictogo has served as mayor since 2023.
Switzerland and Côte d'Ivoire have maintained good bilateral relations since Côte d'Ivoire gained independence in 1960. Switzerland has made an important contribution as an investor to the country's development, particularly in the food and infrastructure sectors, and also plays an important role in scientific cooperation. Bilateral relations focus on the economy, scientific cooperation, and migration cooperation. The Federal Council's 2021–24 Sub-Saharan Africa Strategy categorises Côte d'Ivoire as a lion economy, meaning that it is one of the African countries that harbour high economic potential, particularly in terms of investment and trade, and are characterised by dynamic growth.
While in Geneva, Mr Nussbaumer also received Narayan Prasad Dahal, the president of the Nepal National Assembly. The meeting focused on bilateral relations and development cooperation, the international situation and multilateral collaboration. The two presidents also discussed the situation in Nepal and Switzerland’s contribution to developing the country’s new federal government. Nepal’s adoption of a new constitution in 2015 provided a historic opportunity to promote inclusive development. However, forging a political culture that addresses the needs of the population remains a challenge, as does the functioning of the new federal system. Mr Nussbaumer and Mr Dahal also discussed the future of the countries’ economic relations as Nepal is due to transition from least developed country (LDC) to developing country status in November 2026, a crucial phase in the nation's socio-economic development.
Nepal and Switzerland look back on over 60 years of close collaboration. Bilateral relations were first established in the early 1950s, when Switzerland pioneered approaches in the agriculture, rural development and skill development sectors. While development cooperation remains a pillar of the relations between the two countries, a focus is equally set on political cooperation, trade and investment promotion as well as cultural and scientific exchanges.
In partnership with the government of Nepal and guided by the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations, Switzerland supports the democratic development of the new federal state in Nepal. The Swiss Cooperation Programme 2023–26 aims to contribute to the improvement of socio-economic wellbeing of women and men, and support an inclusive and accountable federal state in Nepal.