Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the Royal Swedish Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross, on Sunday. This is the highest appreciation and honor that can be given to the head of government.
This is the 31st global honor for Prime Minister Modi. Modi arrived in Sweden on Sunday for a two-day visit. He was received by his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, on Sunday at Gothenburg Airport. The two leaders later held wide-ranging talks focusing on trade, technology, defense and other key sectors.
Modi had earlier visited Sweden in 2018 to attend the first-ever India-North India summit.
During the delegation-level talks, the two sides reviewed the full scope of bilateral relations and explored new ways of cooperation to boost bilateral trade, which reached US$7.75 billion in 2025.
The two leaders emphasized 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.
“I will meet Prime Minister Kristersson to strengthen Indo-Swedish friendship on trade, investments, innovation, defense and more,” Modi had earlier said in a social media post.
Earlier, Swedish Air Force aircraft accompanied Modi’s plane as it entered the European country’s airspace. He received a warm reception at the airport from his Swedish counterpart, Kristersson.
Shortly after arriving in Gothenburg, Modi met members of the Indian community. He was welcomed with musical performances, including a rendition of the ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ bhajan by Swedish opera singer Charlotta Holdt and a stunning Bharatanatyam performance by Lilla Akademien students.
During the reception, in the presence of Prime Minister Christerson, a wonderful example of Bengali culture was displayed. “Bengali culture is popular all over the world and Sweden is no exception,” Modi said on social media.
