Stockholm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi who landed in Stockholm, Swedish capital late in the evening on Monday, participated in the first India-Nordic summit on Tuesday. Besides, Sweden which is hosting the summit, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway are part of the Nordic region.
The Prime Ministers of all five Nordic countries also attended the summit where “India-Nordic Summit-Shared Values Mutual Prosperity” was the theme.
India has substantial economic ties with Nordic countries. Annual India-Nordic trade i.e. with all five Nordic countries, is about $5.3 billion. The cumulative Nordic FDI to India has been $2.5 billion. The Nordic region represents a prosperous society with high incomes and a strong focus on quality and innovation. They rank high in Human Development Index. Three Nordic countries namely Denmark, Sweden and Finland are members of the European Union. The other two Norway and Iceland are members of the four country block, European Free Trade Association known as EFTA.
For India, Nordic countries are potential source for clean technology, environmental solutions, port modernization, cold chain, skill development, innovation etc. They could be our ideal partners for many flagship programs. Swedish and Finnish Prime Minister participated in Make in India week in Mumbai in February 2016. “Other than that Smart City, Clean Ganga, Swachh Bharat, Skill India are some of the other flagship programs to which Nordic countries can contribute significantly,” Subrata Bhattacharjee who is in the Ministry of External Affairs’ Central Europe desk as a Joint Secretary, said.
India has a large market and a vast pool of talent and skills. India as a potential market for Nordic technologies and a capable supplier of goods and services for Nordic population. These complementarities and the unique strength of India and the Nordic countries have attracted entrepreneurs from both sides. Given the similarities in characteristics and ease of mobility across Nordic it is also important to look at all Nordic countries as a region and not separately as five different entities. “Taking note of the synergies existing between India and Nordic countries we intend to develop a pan Nordic view of India’s ties with the Nordic region,” the official said.
India has substantial economic ties with Nordic countries. Annual India-Nordic trade i.e. with all five Nordic countries, is about $5.3 billion. The cumulative Nordic FDI to India has been $2.5 billion. The Nordic region represents a prosperous society with high incomes and a strong focus on quality and innovation. They rank high in Human Development Index. Three Nordic countries namely Denmark, Sweden and Finland are members of the European Union. The other two Norway and Iceland are members of the four country block, European Free Trade Association known as EFTA.
For India Nordic countries are potential source for clean technology, environmental solutions, port modernization, cold chain, skill development, innovation etc. They could be our ideal partners for many flagship programs. Swedish and Finnish Prime Minister participated in Make in India week in Mumbai in February 2016. Other than that Smart City, Clean Ganga, Swachh Bharat, Skill India are some of the other flagship programs to which Nordic countries can contribute significantly.
