A new partnership in digital technologies and cooperation between India and the Nordic countries to deal with disruptions caused by geopolitical turmoil around the world will be in focus when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in the Norwegian capital on Monday to attend several important meetings.
Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to travel to Norway since Indira Gandhi’s visit in 1983, and will hold a bilateral meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Sture on Monday and co-chair the third India-North Summit on Tuesday. Norway is the fourth stop on the Prime Minister’s five-country tour.
Besides the three agreements expected to be signed between India and Norway for cooperation in digital public goods, health and space, companies from the two countries are scheduled to sign nearly 20 agreements at the Norway-India Business and Research Summit that Modi and Store will attend on Monday, officials said.
“We view this visit with great importance. It has been 43 years since an Indian Prime Minister visited Norway, and it is very important for us. He is the leader of the most populous country in the world, and now the fourth largest and fastest growing economy,” May Elin Steiner, Norwegian Ambassador to India, said.
“There will be a memorandum of understanding for a new health partnership between India and Norway. We will also sign an agreement on digital public goods – how together we can help third countries find better digital solutions,” Stayner said. “There will be a fair number of memorandums of understanding between companies, especially in areas such as green energy, maritime transport, wastewater management, and the circular economy.”
Before Modi’s visit, Storr said that Modi’s visit underscores the importance of cooperation between India and the Nordic countries in “times of global instability.” He added: “We stand together in strengthening international cooperation and the rules-based global order.”
Monday’s business meeting will be an opportunity for India and Norway to explore ways to enhance trade and investment ties by leveraging the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) signed by India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which came into force last October. Besides Norway, the other members of EFTA are Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
“The primary focus of the business conference will be how to implement TEPA, how to make it work harder,” Stiner said.
The two sides are keen to advance bilateral trade, worth $2.73 billion in 2024, and investments by the Norwegian Government Pension Fund (GPFG), which has pumped nearly $28 billion into the Indian capital market. Bilateral trade has more than doubled over the past decade, but officials believe there is great potential for further growth.
The third India-North India summit to be held in Oslo on Tuesday comes nearly four years after the last such meeting was held in Copenhagen, and the focus will be on technology and innovation, defence, renewable energy, blue economy, space and the Arctic.
“The last India-Nordic summit was held in Copenhagen in 2022, and that is a long time ago. In today’s world, a lot has changed. The five Nordic Prime Ministers are really looking forward to discussing with the Prime Minister of India the situation in the world today, the ongoing conflicts, the ups and downs and all that has changed,” Stiner said. “This will be in addition to discussing how we can work more closely together for a green and more sustainable future.”
Modi will be joined by Norway’s Prime Minister Sture, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Finnish Prime Minister Petri Örbo, Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristron Frostadóttir and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at the summit, which is expected to add a more strategic dimension to India’s relations with the Nordic countries. Discussions will also focus on boosting India’s trade with the Nordic countries, which will be worth $19 billion in 2024, and building resilient supply chains following the India-EU FTA and the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (TEPA).
