India-Nordic Summit (IR)
India-Nordic Summit (IR)
Context:
PM Narendra Modi headed to Norway for the 3rd India-Nordic Summit. He will then visit the Netherlands, Sweden and Italy.
The PM's trip is part of India's push to deepen ties with Europe, a process that has been on for a few years now and resulted in the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this year.
India-Nordic Summit, Oslo:
The India-Nordic Summit brings together India and the five Nordic nations—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden—for collective, high-level strategic discussions.
Only the US holds an equivalent summit-level engagement with the Nordics.
The first India-Nordic summit was held in Stockholm (2018) and the second in Copenhagen (2022), bringing together leaders of India, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland.
Significance of the Nordic Countries to Indian Economy:
Nordic countries lead globally in o shore wind, hydrogen, electric mobility and green shipping, while India’s clean-energy ambitions require technology, investment and trusted partnerships.
Energy security:
Norway’s technology in offshore wind, green shipping corridors, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a perfect match for India’s scale and manpower.
Trade:
India- Nordic trade in goods and services touched $19 billion in 2024 (exports $9.4 billion, imports $9.6 billion).
The summit is expected to boost Make in India investment flows and attract Nordic capital, reinforced by the India-EU FTA, and the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzer- land), which came into force on October 1, 2025.
In addition, all the countries have ageing populations, opening up opportunities for Indians to study and work there.