Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist January 2019 | Page 42

A Review of Indo-Swiss Trade:
Opportunities for a Stable
World Order
BY ARPIT CHATURVEDI*
S
witzerland was one the very fi rst friends of independent
India. The two nations signed their ‘Treaty of
Friendship and Establishment’ on August 14th, 1948
– an year after India’s Independence from the British rule, as
they swore “perpetual peace and unalterable friendship” and
also conferred the status of “most favoured foreign nation”
on each other. Culturally and politically, even though placed
in diff erent contexts, India and Switzerland have had much
in common. To begin with, both nations have had a history of
handling diversity and the experience of a polity engendered
by home-grown republics. With four national languages and
26 cantons today, the development of Swiss republics has
striking similarities with that of the multilingual Indian state
which fi nds it current form through a long process of evolution
from the ancient political structures of “sanghas”, “ganas”,
and “mahajanpadas”. Thus, the traditions of democratic
decision making have been native to both countries. Through
the annals of history, both nations today have emerged as
having the dual attributes of – (a) the strength to safeguard
one’s own security and (b) a commitment towards global
peace and non-aggression. The similarities in the historical
evolution and shaping of the characters of both nations renders
them as likely partners in an ever-changing international
order.
Trends in Trading Relations
In international relations theory, aspects such as
similarities in culture, polity, national character, and stance
towards other international players are considered predictive
determinants of trading and economic relations. The trading
relations between India and Switzerland date back to at
least the mid-19th century with the coming of the Volkart
Winterthur Company that set shop in Bombay and later even
served as the fi rst Swiss consul in India. Not only did Volkart
Winterthur once give employment to the famous Indian
spiritual leader – Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the Winterthur
also found reciprocation from Indian merchant houses in form
of recommendations on the Volkarts’ respectable character
when they wanted to establish themselves more fi rmly in the
European cotton trade – an exemplifi cation of what has been
called as “relational capitalism”.
The two centuries of trading relations have fostered
a conducive environment and as a result, more than 250
Swiss companies have a presence in India today along with
42 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 1 • January 2019, Noida