Gothenburg, May 17 — Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Gothenburg on May 17 for a two-day state visit, where he was greeted at the airport by Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Swedish Gripen fighter jets escorted Modi’s aircraft as it entered Swedish airspace, underscoring the diplomatic significance of the visit, Indian news agency ANI reported.
The Gothenburg stop is the third leg of Modi’s five-nation European tour, following engagements in the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands. The visit, scheduled for May 17–18 at Kristersson’s invitation, aims to deepen ties between India and Sweden across political, economic and technological fronts.
Officials say the talks will review the full spectrum of bilateral relations and seek new areas of cooperation. Key themes expected to feature in discussions include boosting bilateral trade and investment, collaboration on green technologies and the clean-energy transition, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, innovation and start-ups, resilient supply chains, defence manufacturing, space cooperation, and climate action.
The Ministry of External Affairs noted that Prime Minister Modi previously visited Sweden in 2018 to attend the first-ever India-Nordic Summit. The current visit is being framed as a chance to inject fresh momentum into India-Sweden cooperation after a multi-year gap.
Economic ties are central to the agenda. Indian officials highlighted that bilateral trade reached $7.75 billion in 2025, while Swedish foreign direct investment into India totals $2.825 billion for the period 2000–2025. Both sides are expected to explore steps to expand commercial integration and push strategic cooperation in innovation-driven sectors where Sweden has strong expertise.
Over the next 48 hours, the high-level meetings and engagements are intended to produce a forward-looking roadmap for deeper collaboration between the two democracies, officials said. The programme will include bilateral talks between the two prime ministers and sectoral discussions with business and technology leaders.
This story is based on reporting from ANI and was published via a syndicated feed.
