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'India-EU Trade and Technology Council could open new avenues for stronger India-Nordic-Baltic Eight': Jaishankar

While addressing 2nd CII India Nordic Baltic Business conclave, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Wednesday said India-EU Trade and Technology Council could open a new avenues for stronger India-Nordic-Baltic Eight.

'India-EU Trade and Technology Council could open new avenues for stronger India-Nordic-Baltic Eight': Jaishankar
'India-EU Trade and Technology Council could open new avenues for stronger India-Nordic-Baltic Eight': Jaishankar
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By ETV Bharat English Team

Published : Nov 22, 2023, 3:53 PM IST

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement and the European Free Trade Association and Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations would be concluded soon.

In his address at the 2nd CII India Nordic Baltic Business conclave, Jaishankar said, "The India-EU Trade and Technology Council could open new avenues for a stronger India-Nordic-Baltic Eight, cooperating on critical technologies and ensuring the restructuring of supply chains".

The minister noted that India's talent pool, digital adoption, and start-up ecosystem align well with the Baltic region's prominence in e-governance, digital innovation, supply chain management, and other frontier industries.

He pointed out that the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8)countries collectively represent an economy of more than two trillion US dollars. "India's combined trade in goods with the Nordic-Baltic Eight countries is currently around 7.3 billion US dollars. He stressed that efforts must be made to boost the trade and investment between India and the Nordic-Baltic Eight countries", added Jaishankar.

He highlighted that India's engagement with the NB8 countries has expanded clearly in the last few years. "We opened our Embassies in Tallinn in December 2021, and in Vilnius this year in March. We will be opening a Resident Embassy in Latvia very soon. Conversely, Finland has opened a Consulate in Mumbai. Direct flights between India and Finland and India to Denmark are facilitating mobility between our countries", he informed.

Appropriate institutional frameworks with NB8 countries are also being established for closer business-to-business cooperation. With Finland, India has established sustainability partnerships, digitalization, and education dialogue. With Denmark, India's green strategic partnership is strengthening and facilitating collaborations in water solutions, wind energy, green hydrogen, and agriculture.

He further reiterated that India is also looking forward to stronger cooperation with the Faroe Islands and with Greenland. "With Sweden, our leadership for industry transition, what is called LeadIT initiative, has been joined by 18 nations and 19 major global companies", added the External Affairs minister.

In what can be seen as a major development is India and Iceland are working closely on harnessing geothermal energy in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. As told by EAM Jaishankar, similar projects are being planned for Northeast India. Efforts are on to establish a center for excellence in cold and warm water fisheries.

"We have also forged strong cooperation with Norway to harness the potential of the blue economy, wind, and geothermal energy, as well as polar studies, green shipping, water management, space, and health. With the Baltic nations, we have regular official-level interactions, and we are seeking to explore new avenues for stronger cooperation in e-governance, in cyberspace, in the Internet of things, startups, defense technology, supply chain, and logistics. There is clearly, however, much more work to be done", said Jaishankar.

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement and the European Free Trade Association and Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations would be concluded soon.

In his address at the 2nd CII India Nordic Baltic Business conclave, Jaishankar said, "The India-EU Trade and Technology Council could open new avenues for a stronger India-Nordic-Baltic Eight, cooperating on critical technologies and ensuring the restructuring of supply chains".

The minister noted that India's talent pool, digital adoption, and start-up ecosystem align well with the Baltic region's prominence in e-governance, digital innovation, supply chain management, and other frontier industries.

He pointed out that the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8)countries collectively represent an economy of more than two trillion US dollars. "India's combined trade in goods with the Nordic-Baltic Eight countries is currently around 7.3 billion US dollars. He stressed that efforts must be made to boost the trade and investment between India and the Nordic-Baltic Eight countries", added Jaishankar.

He highlighted that India's engagement with the NB8 countries has expanded clearly in the last few years. "We opened our Embassies in Tallinn in December 2021, and in Vilnius this year in March. We will be opening a Resident Embassy in Latvia very soon. Conversely, Finland has opened a Consulate in Mumbai. Direct flights between India and Finland and India to Denmark are facilitating mobility between our countries", he informed.

Appropriate institutional frameworks with NB8 countries are also being established for closer business-to-business cooperation. With Finland, India has established sustainability partnerships, digitalization, and education dialogue. With Denmark, India's green strategic partnership is strengthening and facilitating collaborations in water solutions, wind energy, green hydrogen, and agriculture.

He further reiterated that India is also looking forward to stronger cooperation with the Faroe Islands and with Greenland. "With Sweden, our leadership for industry transition, what is called LeadIT initiative, has been joined by 18 nations and 19 major global companies", added the External Affairs minister.

In what can be seen as a major development is India and Iceland are working closely on harnessing geothermal energy in Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh. As told by EAM Jaishankar, similar projects are being planned for Northeast India. Efforts are on to establish a center for excellence in cold and warm water fisheries.

"We have also forged strong cooperation with Norway to harness the potential of the blue economy, wind, and geothermal energy, as well as polar studies, green shipping, water management, space, and health. With the Baltic nations, we have regular official-level interactions, and we are seeking to explore new avenues for stronger cooperation in e-governance, in cyberspace, in the Internet of things, startups, defense technology, supply chain, and logistics. There is clearly, however, much more work to be done", said Jaishankar.

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