Switzerland only country to celebrate 75 years of friendship with India: Swiss envoy
Oct 14, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 14 : In a joyous celebration of the enduring friendship between the two countries, Switzerland Ambassador Ralf Heckner said, "Switzerland is the only country that is celebrating 75 years of friendship with India".
The occasion, marked by a unique Swiss Art Night, emphasised the deep-seated values of peace, unity, and artistic collaboration that have characterised this remarkable partnership.
Addressing the event, Ambassador Heckner emphasised that seventy-five years ago, India chose Switzerland as its first friend and partner, signing a friendship treaty that envisioned perpetual peace and unalterable friendship between the two nations.
"Today we are celebrating 75 years of friendship between Switzerland and India. 75 years ago, India chose Switzerland as the first country to sign a friendship treaty with and in that friendship treaty, it was written that the two countries should be together in perpetual peace and unalterable friendship. Very wise words of foresight. The world is indeed in great need of more perpetual peace and unalterable friendship," said Heckner.
"We are actually not only celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations, Switzerland is the only country that is celebrating 75 years of friendship with India because India had chosen Switzerland after independence as the first country to sign a friendship treaty with," he told ANI.
He also said that in a world marked by turmoil and conflicts, it was poignant that the Swiss embassy celebrated peace and friendship.
"So in a time of war...the Swiss embassy, is celebrating peace and friendship. That's what it is all about today. We are also celebrating the collaboration between Swiss and Indian people," he added.
The ambition has always been to foster a spirit of cooperation and co-creation between the two nations, he said.
"It is always the ambition of this embassy and of the whole Swiss network in India to see the Swiss and the Indian people work together, to co-create together. I wish you all a wonderful evening in friendship and peace," the Swiss envoy said.
The Swiss Art Night was a fitting testament to this extraordinary partnership. Titled "Switzerland and India in Bloom," the event symbolised the blossoming of their 75-year-long friendship.
The theme of blooming flowers captured the essence of their relationship, with a mesmerizing flower show featuring the works of Swiss and Indian floral artists, he added.
The Swiss Ambassador also underscored the message of peace and friendship that the event sought to convey.
"The message that we would like to send out today is a message of peace and friendship. Because those were the objectives of the bilateral treaty. And over the last 75 years, Switzerland and India have been enjoying peace and friendship together," he told ANI.
India and Switzerland have had cordial and friendly relations since India's Independence, based on shared values of democracy and the rule of law, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.
