Recent Visitors 16

Economic Security Talk: Swiss-India Pact Raises New Hope

Newz Daddy Educational Updates

The School of International Cooperation, Security and Strategic Languages (SICSSL) at Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) held its flagship event, the 55th Lavad Confab on National Security, welcoming a distinguished guest: Dr Juan-Pedro Schmid, Counsellor and Head of the Economic, Trade and Commercial Section at the Embassy of Switzerland in New Delhi. Dr Schmid delivered a lecture titled “Contours of Financial and Economic Security: The Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) between Switzerland and India as a Framework for Sustainable Growth and Strategic Cooperation.”

Dr Schmid’s talk explored how the TEPA between Switzerland (and other EFTA countries) and India forms a strategic economic bridge. He emphasised how evolving global financial systems are deeply linked with security. He noted that economic resilience is now a core component of national security. According to him, the TEPA agreement is not just a trade deal — it is a framework to deepen innovation-driven cooperation, boost technology-led growth, and foster sustainable development between India and Switzerland.

He argued that by building financial strength and sharing economic risk through such strategic partnerships, nations can better secure their long-term stability. Dr Schmid pointed out that TEPA could help Indian and Swiss firms collaborate on cutting-edge technologies, potentially leading to joint research, start-ups, and a stronger economic ecosystem. He also underscored that such partnerships may reduce global vulnerability by widening the scope of economic diplomacy.

The session began with welcome remarks by Dr Aparna Varma, Director of SICSSL. She praised the Lavad Confab as a vital platform that brings together policy, academia, and practice. According to her, events like this allow students, faculty, and security professionals to engage in high-level global dialogues and build a shared understanding of how economic agreements affect national security. She said that bridging these worlds helps the university’s participants see how theory meets real-world diplomacy.

The audience included SICSSL’s school directors, faculty, students, and army personnel. They actively participated in discussions on TEPA, asking questions about trade flows, strategic investments, and how such economic deals influence long-term security. The presence of defence and academic stakeholders enriched the dialogue, emphasising how deeply economic cooperation now ties into national security strategy.

Dr Schmid’s lecture comes at an especially relevant time. In March 2024, India signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which includes Switzerland. Under this deal, EFTA pledged up to US$100 billion in investments in India over 15 years. This is a landmark agreement, marking India’s first comprehensive pact with a European bloc, and expected to boost high-technology collaboration, services trade, and investments.

Analysts say TEPA may fuel Swiss firms like ABB, pharmaceuticals and precision manufacturing companies to scale up in India. According to reports, a large part of the deal involves reducing tariffs so that Swiss companies can more easily export goods, while Indian companies may gain better market access in EFTA countries. The scale of investment and cooperation anticipated under TEPA is seen as a strong move for economic diplomacy and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

There is also a push for accountability: Switzerland’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs recently mentioned steps to monitor the pledged financial commitments under TEPA. This signals that both sides are serious about turning promises into measurable outcomes, not just paper agreements.

From a national security standpoint, the talk by Dr Schmid reflects how economic strength and trade security are intertwined. In modern strategic thinking, financial resilience is not separate from security — it is part of it. When countries build deeper economic links, they also build trust, shared interests, and interdependence, reducing the risk of conflict and enhancing collaboration on global challenges.

SICSSL, RRU’s role in hosting this discussion is also significant. As a school that combines international relations, political economy, and strategic languages, SICSSL itself is designed to train the next generation of security experts. By engaging with diplomats like Dr Schmid, students get first-hand exposure to the global strategic economy, helping them to understand how academic ideas translate into real-world policy.

Dr Varma’s emphasis on links between policy and academia is a reminder that security studies cannot stay confined to theoretical textbooks. When students, scholars, and security practitioners meet, they can test assumptions, raise new questions, and build future networks — all while strengthening India’s capacity to navigate a complex, interconnected world.

This lecture at RRU aligns with India’s growing strategy to use economic diplomacy as a tool of national power. The TEPA agreement is not only about trade but also about long-term investments, technology transfer, and innovation. It could pave the way for joint research labs, investment in green technology, manufacturing, and sustainable development projects.

It also strengthens India’s place in European economic networks, offering a pathway for Swiss and EFTA firms to tap into India’s fast-growing market. For Indian security policy, engaging with economic diplomacy means that threats and opportunities are not only military — they are also financial, technological and commercial.

Finally, for SICSSL and RRU, holding such a high-profile confab signals the university’s ambition to be a space where real international debates happen — where students and faculty learn not just theory, but also how to apply strategy in practice.