Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a six-day visit to the UAE, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy starting on Friday to deepen India-India bilateral ties amid the ongoing geopolitical turmoil.
Prime Minister Modi’s first destination will be the United Arab Emirates, where he will meet President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with the aim of strengthening the comprehensive bilateral strategic partnership and exchanging views on the conflict in West Asia.
“The two leaders will have the opportunity to exchange views on bilateral issues, especially cooperation in the field of energy, as well as regional and international issues of common interest,” the Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
Read also | ‘India loses hours daily in traffic’: Techie supports PM Modi working from home
He added that the visit will work to strengthen the important trade and investment ties between the two countries.
The UAE is India’s third largest trading partner and seventh largest source of investments cumulatively over the past 25 years.
With the UAE hosting more than 4.5 million Indian communities, the visit will also be an opportunity to discuss their well-being, the agency said.
On the second leg of his tour, Modi will visit the Netherlands from May 15 to 17. This will be his second trip to the Netherlands, after his visit in 2017.
The Prime Minister will meet King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima and hold talks with Prime Minister Rob Gittin.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit will build on the momentum of high-level engagements and close cooperation spanning diverse sectors, including defence, security, innovation, green hydrogen, semiconductors and strategic water partnership, according to MENA.
She added that his visit will provide an opportunity to further deepen and expand the multifaceted partnership.
The Netherlands is one of India’s largest trade destinations in Europe, with bilateral trade worth US$27.8 billion in 2024-25. The European country is the fourth largest investor in India with cumulative FDI of US$55.6 billion.
From the Netherlands, the Prime Minister will travel to Sweden at the invitation of his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, on a two-day trip from May 17 to 18.
Read also | ‘Running on water’: PM’s promotions after ‘save petrol’ call spark spark reaction; Markets spooked by 7 calls amid Iran war
Modi had earlier visited Sweden in 2018 to attend the first-ever India-North India summit.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Christerson to review the full scope of bilateral relations and explore new ways of cooperation to boost bilateral trade, which has reached US$7.75 billion in 2025.
In their talks, the two sides are scheduled to focus on strengthening bilateral relations in the areas of green transformation, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, start-ups, resilient supply chains, defence, space, climate action, and people-to-people relations.
“The two prime ministers will also address the European Industry Roundtable, a leading forum for Europe’s business leaders, alongside Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On the fourth leg of his visit, Modi will visit Norway from May 18 to 19 to attend the third India-North India summit as well as to hold bilateral talks with the country’s leadership.
This will be Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to Norway. This will also be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Norway in 43 years.
Prime Minister Modi will visit King Harald V and Queen Sonja and will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Sture.
Modi will also address the Indo-Norwegian Business and Research Summit with the Norwegian Prime Minister, according to MENA.
“The visit will provide an opportunity to review the progress made in India-Norway relations and explore ways to enhance them, with a focus on trade and investment, leveraging the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, as well as on clean and green technology and the blue economy,” the statement added.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
“The visit will also be an opportunity to create momentum in bilateral trade worth approximately US$2.73 billion (2024), and Norwegian Government Pension Fund (GPFG) investments of approximately US$28 billion in the Indian capital market,” the agency said.
The third India-North India summit is scheduled to be held in Oslo on May 19, and will be joined by Modi and his counterparts from Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden.
The Foreign Ministry said the summit will build on the previous two summits held in Stockholm in April 2018 and in Copenhagen in May 2022, and will add a more strategic dimension to India’s relationship with the Nordic countries.
The summit is expected to focus on strengthening bilateral relations in the areas of technology and innovation, green transition and renewable energy, sustainability, blue economy, defence, space and the Arctic.
On the last leg of his visit, Prime Minister Modi will pay an official visit to Italy from May 19 to 20 at the invitation of his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni.
Prime Minister Modi had last visited Italy in June 2024 to attend the G7 summit. During the visit, he will meet with President Sergio Mattarella and hold talks with Prime Minister Meloni.
The agency said that the visit comes in light of strong momentum in bilateral relations, with the two sides proactively implementing the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029, which is a comprehensive road map for cooperation in various sectors.
Bilateral trade between India and Italy will reach US$16.77 billion in 2025.
Modi’s visit to Italy is likely to focus on strengthening relations in the areas of investment, defence, security, clean energy, innovation, science and technology.
The Prime Minister’s upcoming visit will further deepen India’s partnership with Europe across sectors, especially trade and investment relations in light of the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement, the Middle East News Agency said.
