Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo on May 18 during a two-day visit to Norway, arriving from Sweden. The leaders discussed deepening cooperation on trade and investment, clean and green technology, the blue economy and other shared priorities. Modi was received at the airport by PM Støre and other senior Norwegian officials.
This marks Modi’s first visit to Norway and the first visit by an Indian prime minister to the country in 43 years. The two leaders will jointly take part in the third Nordic-Indian Summit in Oslo on May 19, which brings together India and the five Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Norway. The summit builds on earlier meetings in Stockholm (April 2018) and Copenhagen (May 2022) and is expected to give a more strategic dimension to India’s ties with the Nordics.
Modi is scheduled to call on King Harald V and Queen Sonja, and to address the India-Norway Business and Research Summit alongside PM Støre. According to a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the visit will review progress in India–Norway relations and explore ways to strengthen them, including capitalizing on the India–EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement and expanding cooperation in green tech and the blue economy. (EFTA members include Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.)
Ahead of the visit, PM Støre said India ‘plays a central role on climate, technology, trade and international security’ and that the trip underscores the importance of closer cooperation between India, Norway and the Nordic countries amid global instability, reaffirming support for international cooperation and a rules-based world order.
