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Innovation, technology, education to top Modi's agenda in Sweden, England
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SME Times News Bureau | 16 Apr, 2018
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Sweden and England from April
16 to 20, during the course of which he will participate in the first
ever India-Nordic Summit and this year's Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM), cooperation in the areas of innovation,
technology and education will top his agenda.
Modi will reach
Stockholm on April 16 evening in what will be the first prime
ministerial visit from India to Sweden in 30 years since the visit of
then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1988.
On April 17, Modi and
his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven will hold a bilateral summit
during which bilateral, regional and global issues are expected to
figure.
According to Sweden's Ambassador to India Klas Molin, innovation is an important aspect of the India-Sweden relationship.
"How
do we cooperate further, how do we get our best and the brightest
people together, how do we also perhaps think about funding certain
areas, how do we go into areas where we can cooperate even more and
develop new technologies, create employment and sustainable solutions on
a number of issues," he said.
During Modi's visit, an India-Sweden Innovation Partnership is also expected to be launched.
"I
think it is something we are discussing with the Indian side but
exactly how this will look, of course, will have to be finalised," the
ambassador said.
"But I think it is a way of focusing our
attention on both sides to create a platform that, in turn, can attract
investments, that can attract companies to plug in."
With
education being another sector in which the two sides are expected to
forge deeper ties, Molin said "we are hoping to increase exchanges
between our universities".
"Student exchanges... graduates, doctorate and post-doctorate. The sky is the limit here," he said.
On bilateral economic relations, the Ambassador said that trade is growing on both sides "and quite impressively so".
Though
bilateral trade dipped to $1.9 billion in 2016-17 from $2.17 billion,
both countries have set a lofty total trade target of $5 billion.
There
are over 170 Swedish companies in India that have invested $1.4 billion
since 2000 while 70 Indian companies have established their presence in
Sweden.
On April 17, India and Sweden will also co-host the
first ever India-Nordic Summit, where, apart from Modi and Lofven, the
Prime Ministers of the other four Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland,
Iceland and Norway will also be present.
Molin said that Nordic countries are close as neighbours and cooperate very closely in a number of issues.
"But
we are not a political entity in that way," he said. "It's not like the
EU, it's not a regional organisation in any way. It's a convenient
forum."
According to Subrata Bhattacharjee, Joint Secretary
(Central Europe) in the Ministry of External Affairs, the Nordic region
represents a prosperous society with high incomes and a strong focus on
quality and innovation."
"For India, Nordic countries are a
potential source for clean technology, environmental solutions, port
modernisation, cold chain, skill development, innovation etc.,"
Bhattacharjee said at a media briefing here in connection with the
upcoming visit.
According to figures provided by the External
Affairs Ministry, India's trade with the Nordic countries totaled around
$5.3 billion in 2016-17, with cumulative foreign direct investment in
India at $2.5 billion.
From Sweden, Modi will leave for Britain
on April 17 evening. This is the third exchange of prime ministerial
visits after Modi's visit to Britain in November 2015 and British Prime
Minister Theresa May's visit to India in November 2016, her first
outside the European Union after assuming office.
At a separate
media briefing here, British High Commissioner to India Dominic Asquith
said the visit comes at a time when the bilateral relationship is in
"very, very good health".
Modi's visit to Britain this time has
been themed "Living bridge and tech partnership". Modi and May are
scheduled to hold a bilateral summit on April 18.
Stating that
trade between the two countries increased by 15 per cent in the last one
year, Asquith said that it is "remarkably balanced" in terms of trade
in goods and services.
In terms of finance, he said the London
Stock Exchange is playing an increasingly important role as a place to
raise money to meet India's huge infrastructure requirements.
In
terms of investments, he said that while Britain is the largest investor
in India among the G20 countries, India is the fourth largest investor
in Britain.
"Then what will be very much a focal point is the
technology partnership between the two countries," he said. "The
complementaries, strengths that each of us have and they are truly
complementary."
Asquith said that both sides will look into
putting more resources in this sector in areas like digital aspect of
technology, collaboration, artificial intelligence, advanced
manufacturing, and data protection and the fintech that goes with that
among others.
According to K. Nagaraj Naidu, Joint Secretary
(Europe West), both sides are looking at announcing an India-UK Tech
Alliance which will comprise young CEOs from both the countries who have
done exceptionally well in the tech space.
In terms of
cooperation in education, Asquith said that there was a 30 per cent rise
in the number of student visas issued by his country to Indians last
year.
Stating that 14,000 Indian students go to Britain for
masters degree programme every year, he added that "we want to build on
that".
Regarding this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting (CHOGM) which Modi will attend in London on April 19-20, the
High Commissioner said that around 50 heads of state and government will
be present.
The agenda, he said, will include climate change,
vulnerability of small island nations, peacekeeping and helping poorer
countries.
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