Piyush Goyal Visits Stockholm to Attend 19th Indo-Swedish Joint Commission

Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister, Piyush Goyal, said that India and Sweden enjoy a strong relationship and excellent cooperation in regional and international fora. Piyush Goyal is visiting Stockholm for the 19^th Indo – Swedish Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial and Scientific Cooperation. He is accompanied by an Indian business delegation to promote bilateral cooperation between the businesses of both the countries and jointly work towards mutually beneficial solutions.

Commerce and Industry Minister interacted with leaders from the Swedish Government and industry over a lunch hosted by Jacob Wallenberg, Chairman, Invest AB. The luncheon meeting was also attended by the Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister for Infrastructure and Representatives of companies like Autoliv, Epiroc, Haldex and others. This interaction gave the companies an opportunity to interact with the Commerce & Industry Minister and discuss the opportunities in the Indian market.

Piyush Goyal highlighted the potential of the Indo – Swedish partnership which cans improve the quality of life of 1.3 billion Indians by addressing their demands in cooperation with a willing Governments on both sides.

Commerce and Industry Minister met with Mr. Ibrahim Baylan, Swedish Minister for Business, Industry and Innovation and apprised the Swedish side of the huge plans of the Government of India to provide for housing, power, cooking gas, road access, quality education and healthcare. He urged the Swedish side to look at more cost- effective technological solutions that may be adopted by the Indian market and will help Swedish companies to scale up their operations. He assured the Swedish side that India is committed to a balanced outcome for the BTIA that finds a mutually acceptable way forward for both sides.

Minister Baylan welcomed the opportunities presented by India and agreed that both countries must work on mutual principles of openness and facilitate increased cross border trade.

Piyush Goyal called upon Ms. Anna Hallberg, the Swedish Minister for Foreign Trade. During the meeting he reiterated the importance of increasing the bilateral trade and investment and take forward the existing relationship between both the two countries. Commerce and Industry Minister informed that India’s open FDI policy of the provides for a conducive environment for Swedish businesses to take advantage of and serve the local and export markets from India. Swedish expertise in technology and innovation would be of immense importance to provide solutions for India’s plans for infrastructure development, smart cities, healthcare, energy, smart mobility and transport systems, added Piyush Goyal.

Minister Hallberg appreciated the proactive approach of the Indian side and looked forward to working towards achieving a bilateral trade of USD 5 billion in the next 5 years as proposed by Piyush Goyal.

Various leaders from the Swedish railways ecosystem met with Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister over a roundtable interaction. The meeting was attended by Bombardier, Ericsson, SWERIG (Swedish Rail Industry Group) and Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). The companies gave presentations on the latest technologies being developed by them and their applicability in the Indian context. Swedish Transport Administration gave an overview of the roll out of ERTMS (European Rail Traffic Management System) in Sweden and the lessons learnt from modernisation and privatisation of the Swedish railways. SWERIG showcased some of the solutions being offered by smaller Swedish railway players to support the Indian railways towards rapid transformation of signalling, traffic management, timetabling and testing track quality. Piyush Goyal invited all companies to come forth with new and innovative technologies for the India Railways that are cost competitive and can be adopted by the Indian Railways system.