PM Modi and PM Jonas Gahr of Denmark Presented the Joint Statement of 2nd India-Nordic Summit

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi participated in the 2nd India-Nordic Summit along with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark, Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and Prime Minister Sanna Marin of Finland.

The Summit provided an opportunity to review the progress of the India-Nordic relations since the 1st India-Nordic Summit, which was held in 2018 in Stockholm. Discussions were held on multilateral cooperation in post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, sustainable development, innovation, digitalization, and green and clean growth.

Discussions were also held on cooperation in the maritime sector with a focus on sustainable ocean management. Prime Minister invited Nordic companies for investing in the Blue Economy sector, especially in India’s Sagarmala project.

India’s partnership with the Nordic region in the Arctic Region was discussed. Prime Minister noted that India’s Arctic Policy provides a good framework for expansion of India-Nordic cooperation in the Arctic region.

Prime Minister invited the sovereign wealth funds of the Nordic countries to invest in India.

Discussions also took place on regional and global developments.

A Joint Statement was adopted after the Summit, which may be seen here.

Excerpts of the Joint Statement at 2nd India-Nordic Summit

In Copenhagen, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson, the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, and the Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen held a Summit hosted by the Danish Prime Minister.

2. During the Summit, the Prime Ministers pledged to continue to deepen cooperation between the Nordic countries and India and focused their discussions on key issues related to international peace and security, including the conflict in Ukraine, multilateral cooperation, green transition and climate change, the blue economy, innovation and digitalisation. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of free trade as a driver for achieving inclusive growth and realising the Sustainable Development Goals.

3. The Nordic Prime Ministers reiterated their strong condemnation of the unlawful and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine by Russian Forces.

4. The Prime Ministers expressed their serious concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. They unequivocally condemned civilian deaths in Ukraine. They reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities. They emphasized that the contemporary global order has been built on the UN Charter, international law and respect for sovereignty and the territorial integrity of states. They discussed the destabilizing effect of the conflict in Ukraine and its broader regional and global implications. Both sides agreed to remain closely engaged on the issue.

5. The Prime Ministers affirmed their strong commitment to multilateralism and international cooperation. The leaders agreed that pressing challenges such as tackling climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, biodiversity loss and increasing food and energy insecurity across the world required international cooperation, a collective response and global solidarity. India and the Nordic countries were committed to doing so and to working together in multilateral fora to promote international cooperation and promote human rights as well as equal opportunities for all people without prejudice.

6. India and the Nordic countries affirmed their support for a rules based international order and for multilateral institutions and their commitment to work towards making them more inclusive, transparent, and accountable with the aim of addressing global challenges more effectively. This included working towards reform of the United Nations, including of the Security Council, to make it more effective, transparent and accountable, and the reform of the World Trade Organisation, as well as strengthening collaboration on global health issues, including pandemic preparedness and response. The Nordic Countries reiterated their support for India’s Permanent Membership of a reformed and expanded Security Council.

7. The Prime Ministers agreed to work together to fight and address climate change and to protect the natural environment in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the forthcoming Global Biodiversity Framework and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit noted that the acceleration of the global green transition to combat climate change is one of the greatest and most imminent global challenges. At the same time, successful transition to sustainable economy offers huge opportunities including new jobs. The need for setting ambitious goals for reducing emissions and concrete implementation plans was underlined, which will facilitate business actors´ contribution to accelerating the transition. The Prime Ministers welcomed the international agreement at COP26 on the need for accelerated climate action for holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degree above pre-industrial level. India and the Nordic countries are committed to ambitious cooperation on renewable energy, energy diversification, smart grids and energy efficiency.

8. The leaders furthermore discussed collaboration on environmental sustainability including clean water, clean air and circular economy, which is critically important, not only to maintain and support biodiversity, water and wildlife, but also as a basis for food security, human health and prosperity. India and Nordic countries are also committed to adopting the ambitious Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in the upcoming 2nd Part of COP15 of Convention on Biological Diversity to be held at Kunming, China and work together in its implementation.

9. The Prime Ministers agreed that the blue economy can deliver economic growth, new jobs, improved nutrition, and increased food security, if managed sustainably. As leading ocean nations, India and the Nordic countries agreed on the benefits of partnering on transforming the shipping industry towards a low carbon future through exchange of good practices and technology transfers. The leaders discussed the potential of stimulating business cooperation and investments in sustainable ocean industries in India and the Nordic countries, including in the maritime, marine, and offshore wind sectors. India and the Nordic countries were committed to follow up on the historic decision at UNEA 5.2 for negotiating an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution with an ambition to completing the work by 2024.

10. The Summit welcomed the Indian Government’s commitment to innovation and digital initiatives. The Nordic approach to innovation systems, characterized by an extensive collaboration between public sector, private sector, and academia was discussed. Several synergies related to India’s rich pool of talent as well as growing innovation environments were identified. The importance of a rules based multilateral trading system, open and inclusive trade as drivers for innovation was underlined. India and the Nordic countries emphasized the importance of green technologies and industry transition with Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT) as a notable example. Transport systems, including aviation knowledge exchange, maritime solutions and port-modernisation were important for enhancing trade between the Nordic countries and India. There was a shared interest in stimulating investment in innovative and sustainable solutions as well as identifying new opportunities in sectors such as food processing and agriculture, health projects and life-sciences.

11. On digitalisation, the Prime Ministers noted that technology has never been more prevalent in the lives of people around the world. The Summit noted that technology can contribute to better and more meaningful lives and assist in solving shared global challenges. The Nordic counties want to continue to engage and work for a more inclusive, sustainable and human-centered technological development. The leaders noted that Digital India is an example of government services made more easily available to citizens electronically. Nordic know-how in harmony with initiatives such as Made in India supports digitalisation efforts and ensures that the technological future belongs to all citizens, everywhere.

12. The Prime Ministers see opportunities for increased co-operation in the Arctic on polar research, climate and environmental issues.

13. The Prime Ministers agreed that a strong partnership between India and Nordic countries can help promote innovation, economic growth, climate friendly solutions and mutually beneficial trade and investments. The Summit emphasized the importance of strong people-to-people contacts through education, culture, labour mobility and tourism – all areas where the cooperation between India and the Nordic countries are expanding.