Dear Reader,
Greetings. India and Switzerland have always enjoyed cordial and excellent trade relationship. Good news is that the Swiss economy is bouncing back to buoyancy after a period of slowdown in its pace of growth. Surveys by leading Swiss banks as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) show that the performance of the Swiss economy in the first six months of 2006 has been good, with industrial activity picking up sharply and exports surging forward accordingly. This augers well for Indo-Swiss bilateral trade. The cover story of the current issue of Indo-Swiss Business is on the resurgent Swiss economy. One of the key areas that India and Switzerland have identified for intense collaboration is biotechnology. In the last two years the two countries have exchanged biotechnology missions, exploring the specific areas of collaboration within this field. India recognizes the fact that Switzerland is a leader in biotechnology research and development. The Swiss participation in BIO 2006 held recently in Chicago has been a thumping success. In fact, Switzerland has emerged as the ideal gateway to the European Union market for biotech products. The Swiss Biotech's annual report for 2006 points out the importance of the convergence of science in Switzerland, which is leading to the emergence of business. The focus of the current issue is on the strides made by the Swiss biotech industry and the opportunities that it offers by way of collaborations to companies from India and other countries. We also carry various news developments involving Swiss companies, which have been successfully taking 'science to the market'. We present a feature on Swiss banking and its legendary practices, including client confidentiality. We carry an address by Swiss Bankers' Association CEO Urs Ph. Roth delivered at a media seminar on the legal aspects of global collaboration to fight money laundering. The features includes a write-up on the mechanisms that the Swiss governmental and banking authorities have put in place to fight financial crimes. There is also a declaration issued jointly by the Swiss Bankers' Association and the British Bankers Association on the need for intensifying efforts to fight global financial crimes. Education is of prime concern for the Swiss in its every aspect, from the primary level to the highest forms of scientific research. A recent vote conducted in Switzerland has indicated that the Swiss favour changes in the existing educational system, to raise its standards and achieve uniformity across the country. We carry a report. Anchrom, an Indian company leading in scientific equipment distribution, which has for the last 28 years maintained its connection with CAMAG of Switzerland, has acquired a bigger premises and is launching into bigger plans. We report the event. Finally, we present a photo feature on the launch of Open Trade, a magazine that New Media is publishing in association with the Trade Commissioners' Forum, Mumbai. We invite our readers to have a look at it.
Wish you happy reading

Satya Swaroop
Managing Editor
satya@newmediacomm.biz