India, Switzerland sign MoU on financial dialogue

Bern, Oct 4 (PTI) India and Switzerland have signed a MoU
on Financial Dialogue that will pave the way for greater
cooperation between the two countries' tax authorities, a move
that will allow unearthing black money stashed in Swiss banks.
The agreement signed by Indian Ambassador to Switzerland
Chitra Narayanan and Swiss Department of Finance Secretary
Michael Ambuhl comes close on the heels of the signing of an
amending protocol to the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.
The MoU was signed on Monday in the presence of President
Pratibha Patil, who is on a state visit here, and her Swiss
counterpart Micheline Calmi-Rey.
The MoU deals with creation of a useful forum for
exchange of views on financial and macro-economic issues.
Official sources said the MoU will facilitate dialogue
between the tax authorities of the two countries.
"We noted that the amending protocol to the Double
Taxation Avoidance Agreement would provide a framework for
exchange of tax related information of importance to either
side, when it enters into force," Patil said in a statement.
India is taking several measures to detect illegal funds
stashed in various tax haven nations and foreign shores. A
number of tax exchange information treaties are being signed
and revised by the country.
Meanwhile, the Swiss government said in a statement that
the financial dialogue under the MoU will allow the Swiss and
Indian authorities to establish regular and privileged
contacts in the financial sector "to identify common interests
and to work together to achieve them".
The Swiss statement said: "With the signature of the
memorandum of understanding, the Federal Department of Finance
and India's Ministry of Finance have laid the foundations for
fostering financial dialogue between the two countries".
It said the objective of the financial dialogue is to
strengthen and intensify cooperation between Switzerland and
India in the financial sector.
"The financial dialogue will allow the partner countries
to coordinate their positions and work together within
organisations and international forums to develop their
cooperation in terms of policies and financial market
regulation and to strengthen their diagnostic capabilities
regarding international macroeconomic developments," it said.
The statement added that Switzerland's financial centre
is characterised by its openness and its internationalism.
"Fostering financial dialogue with important emerging
economies will contribute to implementing the strategy of the
Federal Council in terms of financial market policy," it said.
Patil said during Calmy-Rey's visit to India in 2007, the
two sides had agreed to discuss the elevation of the bilateral
relationship to the level of a Privileged Partnership.
"We discussed today some of the steps we could take to
achieve this goal. In our view, this would require an
enhancement of the frequency, as well as the quality of our
interaction in areas such as economic and commercial
cooperation, scientific ties, educational exchanges and
people-to-people contacts," she said.
She said that during the discussion, the two sides
touched on economic, financial and fiscal cooperation between
India and Switzerland.
Patil said the discussions also included the "important
issue" of the reform of the United Nations, including the
expansion of the Security Council. PTI SAP
MNS