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India and Norway held their 12th round of Foreign Office Consultations in Oslo on Monday.
The discussions centred on deepening cooperation across various areas, including the blue economy, circular economy, energy, and artificial intelligence. Sharing the details in a post on X, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) noted that the consultations were co-chaired by Secretary (West) Sibi George and Secretary General Torgeir Larsen of Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and agreed to strengthen it further in the areas of political engagements, trade & investment, blue economy, circular economy, renewable energy, education, science & technology, AI, space and the Arctic. The sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. The post further said, "India-EFTA-TEPA will drive the India-Norway trade, technology and investment partnership. India considers Norway a valued partner in the Nordic region." https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2018329280342806790?s=20 In another post on X, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that during the visit to Oslo, Secretary (West) held a productive meeting with State Secretary, Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ragnhild Sjoner Syrstad. They discussed deepening economic ties after the implementation of India-EFTA-TEPA. They also discussed boosting investments in green and blue tech sectors. https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/2018282021651681443?s=20 Earlier on January 29, in an interview with ANI, Norway's Ambassador to India, May-Elin Stener, welcomed the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA), calling it a positive step for global trade and a strong complement to the existing India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), of which Norway is a part. Ambassador Stener described the India-EU FTA as "a very good development", while noting that Norway is not a member of the EU. "Norway strongly supports an open and rules-based world trade order, and in that sense we see this as a very positive step," she said. "We already have a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement with India in the EFTA context, which entered into force in October last year. An EU-India agreement would be a very good complement to that." She noted that the EU is Norway's largest trading partner, and closer economic ties between India and the EU could also indirectly benefit Norway by strengthening trade flows and supply-chain linkages. At a time of rising global trade tensions, Ambassador Stener emphasised the importance of diversified and stable partnerships. "Europe is now clearly saying that India is important for us," she said, adding that both the EU and EFTA countries see India as a key long-term economic partner. "Norway is a small country with a very open economy, and we have benefited greatly from free trade in our development. These are good developments in that direction." Notably, India and EFTA signed the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on 10 March 2024, which took effect on 1 October 2025, marking India's first FTA with four developed European nations. TEPA commits USD 100 billion in investments and 1 million direct jobs over 15 years, the first binding pledge of its kind in any Indian FTA. At its core, the agreement envisions unlocking $100 billion in investments and creating one million direct jobs in India over the next fifteen years, marking it as one of the most forward-looking trade partnerships in the country's economic history. (ANI)
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