The President, Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil today invited the Swiss government to be a partner in India's skill development mission. She said, the Indian Government has set up a target of training 500 million skilled personnel by 2022.

Mrs. Patil said that Switzerland can jointly contribute to capacity building efforts in India. In a bid to enhance trade she said, India is negotiating a free trade agreement with the European Union which includes Switzerland. She wanted the business community of the two countries to fully utilize opportunities available to impart further momentum to business relations.

Mrs. Patil was speaking at the Indo-Swiss Business Forum at Berne today. The President said that Switzerland is among the top foreign investors in India and currently ranks 11th.

The President said,over the last fifteen years, there have been over 7,800 technical collaborations between Indian and Swiss companies. About 170 Joint Ventures and subsidiaries of Swiss companies are operating in India, in diverse fields including heavy engineering, precision tools, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, textiles and IT services.