New Delhi: On May 04, 2022, Copenhagen, the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, the Prime Minister of Sweden Magdalena Andersson, the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin, and the Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen held a Summit hosted by the Danish Prime Minister.
During the Summit, the Prime Ministers pledged to continue to deepen cooperation between the Nordic countries and India and focused their discussions on key issues related to international peace and security, including the conflict in Ukraine, multilateral cooperation, green transition and climate change, the blue economy, innovation and digitalisation. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of free trade as a driver for achieving inclusive growth and realising the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Nordic Prime Ministers reiterated their strong condemnation of the unlawful and unprovoked aggression against Ukraine by Russian Forces.
India and the Nordic countries affirmed their support for a rules based international order and for multilateral institutions and their commitment to work towards making them more inclusive, transparent, and accountable with the aim of addressing global challenges more effectively. This included working towards reform of the United Nations, including of the Security Council, to make it more effective, transparent and accountable, and the reform of the World Trade Organisation, as well as strengthening collaboration on global health issues, including pandemic preparedness and response. The Nordic Countries reiterated their support for India’s Permanent Membership of a reformed and expanded Security Council.
The Prime Ministers agreed to work together to fight and address climate change and to protect the natural environment in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the forthcoming Global Biodiversity Framework and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Summit noted that the acceleration of the global green transition to combat climate change is one of the greatest and most imminent global challenges. At the same time, successful transition to sustainable economy offers huge opportunities including new jobs. The need for setting ambitious goals for reducing emissions and concrete implementation plans was underlined, which will facilitate business actors´ contribution to accelerating the transition. The Prime Ministers welcomed the international agreement at COP26 on the need for accelerated climate action for holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degree above pre-industrial level. India and the Nordic countries are committed to ambitious cooperation on renewable energy, energy diversification, smart grids and energy efficiency.
The leaders furthermore discussed collaboration on environmental sustainability including clean water, clean air and circular economy, which is critically important, not only to maintain and support biodiversity, water and wildlife, but also as a basis for food security, human health and prosperity. India and Nordic countries are also committed to adopting the ambitious Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework in the upcoming 2nd Part of COP15 of Convention on Biological Diversity to be held at Kunming, China and work together in its implementation.
The Prime Ministers agreed that the blue economy can deliver economic growth, new jobs, improved nutrition, and increased food security, if managed sustainably. As leading ocean nations, India and the Nordic countries agreed on the benefits of partnering on transforming the shipping industry towards a low carbon future through exchange of good practices and technology transfers. The leaders discussed the potential of stimulating business cooperation and investments in sustainable ocean industries in India and the Nordic countries, including in the maritime, marine, and offshore wind sectors. India and the Nordic countries were committed to follow up on the historic decision at UNEA 5.2 for negotiating an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution with an ambition to completing the work by 2024.
On digitalisation, the Prime Ministers noted that technology has never been more prevalent in the lives of people around the world. The Summit noted that technology can contribute to better and more meaningful lives and assist in solving shared global challenges. The Nordic counties want to continue to engage and work for a more inclusive, sustainable and human-centered technological development. The leaders noted that Digital India is an example of government services made more easily available to citizens electronically. Nordic know-how in harmony with initiatives such as Made in India supports digitalisation efforts and ensures that the technological future belongs to all citizens, everywhere.
The Prime Ministers see opportunities for increased co-operation in the Arctic on polar research, climate and environmental issues.
The Prime Ministers agreed that a strong partnership between India and Nordic countries can help promote innovation, economic growth, climate friendly solutions and mutually beneficial trade and investments. The Summit emphasized the importance of strong people-to-people contacts through education, culture, labour mobility and tourism – all areas where the cooperation between India and the Nordic countries are expanding.