India got support from Switzerland as it mounted a bid to enter the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the move coming on a day when Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was in Geneva where he called the issue of tax evasion and black money a “shared priority” for the Indians and the Swiss.
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Modi also held a meeting with Swiss business leaders and pitched India as an exciting investment destination to them.
Modi promised in his 2014 election campaign to recover billions of dollars sent to tax havens overseas to avoid income tax, now about 30 percent in India.
“The delegations also discussed financial policy matters”.
Describing PM Modi’s visit to the US as an opportunity to highlight progress made in India-US relations, Lisa said: “PM Modi’s visit to the US offers an opportunity to highlight progress made in India-US relations in past 2 years”.
Modi also thanked Swiss President for understanding and supporting India’s bid for NSG membership.
“Switzerland is interested in India’s membership in NSG”, he added.
India has stepped up its diplomatic outreach to various NSG member countries including China ahead of the group’s crucial meetings. “Switzerland and India stressed their shared resolve to take action against tax fraud and tax avoidance and underlined the high quality of their cooperation in this area”, the Swiss government said in a press statement. From here, the Prime Minister will travel to the United States and then to Mexico. The probe had gained momentum after a leaked list of hundreds of Indian clients of HSBC’s Geneva branch found its way to the Indian tax authorities.
Modi said the target before him were to boost “Make in India” as well as human resource development.
“We completed assessment of those people who had accounts in HSBC, Switzerland”. Mr Benjamin J Rhodes, the President’s deputy national security adviser for strategic communication, said on Saturday that the two leaders “have each invested in developing a close relationship”.
The Prime Minister also referred to Indian tennis stars Sania Mirza and Leander Paes winning a number of Grand Slams while pairing up with Swiss player Martina Hingis.
Having been on as many as 40 worldwide trips since taking office in May 2014, he is now on a five-nation tour of Afghanistan, Qatar, Switzerland, the United States and Mexico. The US is encouraging the rise of India as a giant Asian partner to balance China, and India is trying to accelerate its economy with an injection of investment from American companies.
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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.
