Swiss entities keen to invest in India, says envoy

Swiss companies see a high investment potential in India and many of them are waiting to come and invest, Switzerland's Ambassador Linus von Castelmur said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference here, Castelmur, however, said that the investment decisions would be taken by the companies and not by the state. He was replying to a query on size of investments that may come into India from Switzerland, after huge investment commitments were announced during recent visits of global leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Switzerland is not Russia and Russia is not Switzerland," the Ambassador said, indicating that investments are made by Swiss enterprises rather than the state.

Castelmur further said that economies are driven by enterprises and not by states. "Many things are coming on...

A lot of investments (are there) and many are waiting for positive result," he said. "We are interested (in investments)... It is not the state that drives the economy, it is the enterprises," he added.

The bilateral trade between India and Switzerland is worth billions of dollars.

Besides, nearly 200 Swiss companies have presence in the country. Castelmur was participating in a press conference organised by independent group Horasis and industry body CII at Swiss Embassy here.

With a very strong government at the Centre, India's story has globally become very exciting, CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.