President arrives in Switzerland on state visit

From Snehesh Alex Philip
Geneva, Sep 30 (PTI) Indian President Pratibha Patil
arrived here Friday on a state visit to Switzerland during
which she will hold bilateral talks with the Swiss leadership
on a range of issues including on the black money stashed in
Swiss banks.
President Patil was received at the Geneva International
Airport by President Geneva Canton Mark Muller, Deputy Chief
of Protocol of Swiss Government Nathelie Marty.
Patil would be in Switzerland till October 4 and then
will travel to Austria for a state visit from October 4 to 7.
Her first official event here would be a visit to
European Organisation for Nuclear Research, commonly known as
CERN, Saturday morning. The facility is one of the most
important areas of research in particle physics.
In Berne, the President will hold official talks with the
President of the Swiss Confederation Micheline Calmy-Rey, and
other members of the Federal Council.
The President is accompanied by a 45-member business
delegation led by former Federation of Indian Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (FICCI) President and Chairman of Modi
Enterprises K K Modi, Minister of State for Parliamentary
Affairs Rajiv Shukla, Members of Parliament Vijay Jawaharlal
Darda, Prataprao Ganpatrao Jadhav, and Chinta Mohan.
During the trip, some agreements are also likely to be
signed.
The President will also unveil a bust of Rabindranath
Tagore at the University of Lausanne on October 4.
An MoU is expected to be signed between the University
and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations on setting up of
Chair on Indian Studies.