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In a strong pitch ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic visit to Norway, India's Ambassador Gloria Gangte outlined a clear mandate for the upcoming European tour, a direct invitation to Europe and the Nordic region to aggressively invest and participate in India's surging growth story.
Speaking to ANI, Ambassador Gangte emphasised that the visit aims to bridge the gap between India's market scale and the Nordic region's unparalleled technical expertise. "It is really inviting Europe and the Nordic countries to participate in India's growth story," Ambassador Gangte stated. "There are a lot of opportunities and good collaborative platforms, especially in green technologies, sustainable energy, research and education, where these Nordic countries are extremely strong." The Prime Minister's visit, scheduled for May 18-19, marks the first time an Indian premier has travelled to the Nordic nation in 43 years, signalling a major strategic pivot toward Northern Europe. She noted that while India offers an expanding, open economic landscape, the Nordic five, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden, hold world-class, cutting-edge capabilities that can be mutually leveraged. "The summit provides a very good platform for the leaders of India and the five Nordic countries to have a political dialogue on global issues of importance as well as regional issues. India and the five Nordic countries are vibrant democracies, open economies with green technologies. We all stand for a strong multilateralism and a rules-based international order," she added. The high-stakes visit coincides with the 3rd India-Nordic Summit in Oslo on May 19, taking place against a backdrop of tightening geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. Ambassador Gangte highlighted that this period of "global flux" makes the platform more critical than ever. According to the Ambassador, the summit will serve a dual purpose by providing a top-tier political forum for vibrant democracies to discuss a rules-based international order and multilateralism and creating a launchpad to solve global environmental problems while driving prosperity through aggressive trade and investment. "I would say it is very important that this summit is taking place at a time of global flux", Ambassador Gangte said. The economic undercurrents of the visit are massive. Officials expect the trip to provide fresh momentum to a bilateral trade relationship that stood at USD 2.73 billion in 2024. Furthermore, the visit is anticipated to spur deeper commitments from Norway's Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), which already commands a massive footprint with close to USD 28 billion invested in the Indian capital market. During the visit, PM Modi is scheduled to meet Their Majesties King Harald V and Queen Sonja and hold bilateral talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stre. He will also jointly address the India-Norway Business and Research Summit alongside the Norwegian Prime Minister. (ANI)
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