Gothenburg. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sweden gave a new strategic direction to India-Europe relations. During bilateral talks with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christerson in Gothenburg and address to the European Industry Round Table (ERT), Prime Minister Modi described India as the most reliable center for global investment, manufacturing and technological partnership and gave an open invitation to European countries and companies to join India’s development journey.
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden was also present in the meeting. He conveyed good wishes on behalf of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia. Prime Minister Modi also congratulated the king on his 80th birthday. The leaders of the two countries reviewed the growing cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade, investment, innovation, green transition, defence, digitalisation, space, education, research and cultural contacts.
India and Sweden agreed to formally elevate relations to ‘strategic partnership’. This partnership will be based on four key pillars – security and stability, next generation economic partnerships, emerging technologies and building a people and climate-centric future. For this, both the countries also adopted the Joint Action Plan 2026-2030, in which a broad outline of political, economic, technological and climate cooperation has been decided.
Prime Minister Modi said that India and Europe are coming together at a time when the world is facing challenges like supply chain crisis, energy instability and technological competition. Describing the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement as historic, he said that it will open new opportunities for trade, services, manufacturing and technical cooperation. Also described India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as the new basis of future connectivity and global trade.
The Prime Minister presented five major areas of investment before European companies. These include telecommunications and digital infrastructure, AI and semiconductor manufacturing, green energy and hydrogen, infrastructure and urban transformation, and health and life sciences. He said that companies like Vodafone, Ericsson, Nokia, ASML, NXP, Volvo, Airbus, Saab, AstraZeneca and Philips can become partners in the new industrial revolution in India.
Modi called upon European companies to start big flagship projects in India for the next five years and assured that the Indian government will extend full cooperation in taking all the projects forward in a time-bound manner. He also suggested organizing India-Europe CEO Roundtable every year and creating an ‘India Desk’ in ERT to provide institutional support to the entry of new companies into India and expansion of existing investors.
Both sides also stressed the need for reform of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions. Prime Minister Modi appreciated Sweden’s support to India against terrorism. At the end of the talks, both countries reiterated their commitment to pursue peace, stability, sustainable development and trustworthy global partnership.
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