Swedish PM Lofven Does A Modi, Receives Indian PM At The Tarmac In Stockholm

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on Monday evening in Stockholm, Sweden on the first leg of his three-nation tour of Europe that will also see him going to Britain and Germany. Breaking protocol, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven received PM Modi at the airport with a warm handshake. The Swedish prime minister’s gesture is reminiscent of Narendra Modi’s own gesture of greeting state guests personally at the airport, who he feels are special friends of India.

This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Sweden in 30 years after the visit of Rajiv Gandhi in 1988.

On Tuesday, PM Modi will hold a bilateral summit with Swedish PM Lofven following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries. Apart from holding extensive talks with his Swedish counterpart, India and Sweden will on April 17 also co-host the first ever India-Nordic Summit, where, the Prime Ministers of the other four Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway will also be present. Modi and Lofven are also scheduled to attend a round table of Swedish CEOs.

Sweden and the Nordic countries’ courting of India is to give a boost to the bilateral trade which today stands at a total trade of around $1.9 billion in 2016-17 down from $2.17 billion, and hence both countries have set a lofty total trade target of $5 billion. 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.

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."

The Indian PM’s outreach to the Nordic countries ties in with his strategy of clean energy diplomacy which was on show during France’s President Emmanuel Macron visit. "For India, Nordic countries are a potential source for clean technology, environmental solutions, port modernisation, cold chain, skill development, innovation etc.," said to Subrata Bhattacharjee, Joint Secretary (Central Europe) in the Ministry of External Affairs, at a media briefing here in connection with the upcoming visit.

Modi will then be visiting UK, followed by a brief stopover at Berlin, Germany, on 20 April while on his way back to India.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 17, 2018 08:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).