The Platform is an initiative spearheaded by Swissnex in India through which we intend to facilitate not just more partnerships and collaborations between India and Switzerland, but also enable them in more meaningful and purposeful ways so that we can achieve together what we may not single-handedly. Think of the Innovation Platform as a tool through which we aim to give the Indo-Swiss collaboration a more strategic and systemic dimension, moving beyond ad hoc-only collaborations. To that end, we have identified a few areas where the opportunities for deeper collaboration are clear, plausible and relevant to both countries. The idea of the Platform, then, is to consider matters beyond initial conversations in a planned and thorough manner that lead to tangible, measurable outcomes in the health, sustainability and digital transformation spaces. The Platform is a joint initiative between the Embassy of Switzerland in India, the Swiss Business Hub India and us. Swissnex in India is the lead coordinator. Together, we aim for the Indo-Swiss Innovation Platform to contribute towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We kickstarted the Platform with the Indo-Swiss AMR Innovation Dialogue, where nearly 50 experts from Switzerland and India convened for three days in Bengaluru to discuss innovative approaches to address global antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This will be followed by a call for proposals from Swiss and Indian funding agencies who aligned their funding instruments with our strategy to directly support possible research collaborations discussed at the AMR Dialogue. More activities around AMR are in the pipeline in other relevant gatherings such as the World Economic Forum.

The AMR-focus will serve as a blueprint for all future activities related to the priorities of the Platform—health, sustainability and digital transformation. The idea is to create an enabling environment supported by Swiss and Indian stakeholders to ensure that not just our conversations and activities, but the entire ecosystem of Indo-Swiss collaboration moves towards a set of common goals.