Denmark’s PM gave a tour of her residence to PM Modi and accompanied him to the Indian Diaspora event. The visit of PM Narendra Modi to Denmark puts the spotlight back on the Nordic countries, which are often ranked as the happiest countries topping the Human Development Indices (HDI). Nordic countries include Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland. In the recent happiness race, Finland stood at the top for the fifth year in a row, closely followed by Denmark. This makes it interesting to know as to what pedestals them as the happiest countries globally and in what way both sides (India & Nordic) can expand their collaboration and mutually benefit from that.

PM Modi in his departure statement ahead of this Europe visit had said, “Nordic countries are important partners for India in sustainability, renewable energy, digitisation and innovation. The visit will help in expanding our multifaceted cooperation with the Nordic region.” The first India-Nordic Summit had taken place in 2018, which provided a perfect platform to come together and realise the full potential of the partnership. Now, the second India-Nordic Summit with Prime Ministers of Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Sweden and Norway acquires greater importance, where India discusses a whole host of cooperation. The agenda of the summit includes subjects like post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, sustainability, digitization, technology, renewable energy, global security scenario and India-Nordic cooperation in the Arctic region.

In the broader picture, mutual economic interests have been the primary driver of the relations between India and Nordic countries where both have put ‘ease of doing business’ at the core of developmental strategy. In fact, in the last few years India has opened up more ground for investment within the nation and abroad. Of the five Nordic countries, four are among the top 20 trading partners of India in Europe – Sweden at 9th, Finland 10th, Denmark 12th and Norway at 14th rank.

Many of the Nordic companies have invested in India in various sectors. Sweden & Finland have invested substantially in India. Similarly, 200 Danish companies and around 100 Norwegian companies are engaged in India either through joint ventures or through wholly owned subsidiaries. Over the last few decades, Indian investment in Nordic countries has also increased with over 70 big Indian companies having their presence in Nordic region. However, there is still tremendous scope for expanding economic ties. Both sides also share democratic values and support for the multilateral rules-based world order. India presents an ideal opportunity for these countries because of its large market and the fastest growing economy.

From political and economic tensions in Sri Lanka to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the world’s political landscape seems grim and rickety right now. As PM Narendra Modi begins his three-day visit to Europe with a spirit high on multilateralism, renewed relations with the European Continent may allow India to explore plurilateral arrangements to generate more global opportunities and solutions in trade, connectivity and new technologies.

The visit of PM Modi to Europe also could not have been timed better from the view point of the old economies of Europe; and India, an emerging power in a multipolar world, spearheading global development. The EU has been able to stabilise and integrate Europe to a good extent. The continent, a group of old economies with same socioeconomic fabric, however has a large part of population that suffers with depressive disorders with higher prevalences in women, the middle-aged, less privileged groups, and those experiencing social adversity. Prevalence rates are much higher in more economically developed nations as there’s nothing much to build and innovate. India which has become severely vocal to promote Yoga, Ayurveda, and Spiritualism as key to rejuvenation of body and mind, promises unprecedented change to the world. With powerful initiatives like Make In India, endorsement of Indian Tourism and exploration of niche tourism, introduction of PLI scheme in various sectors, endorsement of UPI in foreign countries, efforts to increase FDI, new FTA & Trade strategies, etc. India has been trying to convey to the world its readiness for cultural exchange, better economic partnership, and its newfound openness to engage with communities across the globe for mutual development. As diversities change rapidly across the world, a new perspective is needed to manage religious and cultural differences with innovation and soft power diplomacy.

Similarly, India also seems to have realised that a traditional approach to Europe is not appropriate amid the changing World order. Approaching the European continent through its relations with individual countries instead of EU may not strengthen the relations as desired. India has recognised that it the European collective which is its largest trade, key technological and investment partner and can be increasingly important ally to count upon in times of crisis related to Indian Ocean and the wider Middle East. Hence, an FTA with EU, with aggressive efforts being put from both sides to reach to an agreement, would result in super strengthened ties.

Acknowledging and taking on to the needs of changing paradigm, both Europe and India have been engaging in rolling out new initiatives and holding discussions around subjects of economic & technological relevance. The EU is on the front foot in designing global rules in field like protection of personal data; setting up human-centric standards for the use of AI, actively acting on its take on taxation in a digital world. EU has given its nod to new standards on industrial subsidies, largely seeking a renewal within WTO and pinning China. Majority of the above mentioned factors naturally fall in line with the vision of New India, with security of high waters, protection of Indo-Pacific region, diplomatic support at International Forums and greater trade and defence engagement being areas of utmost priority and potentials.