Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently in Oslo, Norway, where he is to attend the 3rd India-Nordic Summit. The meeting will focus on technology, innovation, sustainability, renewable energy and digitalization.
The prime ministers of Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden will join Modi. The last such summit was to be held in Copenhagen in May 2022. This will be Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to Norway, the first by an Indian Prime Minister in 43 years.
India’s bilateral trade with Nordic countries has reached $19 billion (€16.3 billion). More than 700 Nordic companies operate in India. And around 150 Indian companies have a presence in the Nordic region.
India’s external affairs ministry said in a briefing ahead of Modi’s five-nation visit, which began on May 15, that the summit would “provide a further strategic dimension to our engagement with the Nordics in technology and innovation.”
The Indian Prime Minister has already visited UAE, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and is expected to visit Italy on Tuesday after the conclusion of the summit.
On Monday, Modi held bilateral talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gehr Store. The two nations agreed to a “Green Strategic Partnership” agreement aimed at promoting clean energy transition and sustainable development.
“Across every sector, from clean energy to climate resilience, from blue economy to green shipping, India’s scale, speed and talent will combine with Norway’s technology and capital and our companies will develop global solutions,” Modi said on the first day of his two-day visit to the Norwegian capital.
Norway, Europe’s largest oil and gas producer except Russia, gets almost all of its electricity from renewable sources, mainly hydroelectric facilities.
In a statement to the press, Modi said the new partnership is “beneficial for the entire world”.