Nordic envoys to India begin week-long tour to Tamil Nadu, Puducherry

Nordic Ambassadors to India, representing Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden begin their one-week tour to Tamil Nadu and Puducherry this week.

The ambassadors will arrive in Chennai on 20th Feb, where meetings with Nordic businesses, journalists, educational institutions and government representatives will be held.

With total investments of around USD 20 billion and more than 500 Nordic companies operating in India, Nordic companies and institutional investors are contributing substantially to economic development and growth in India.

Over the last few years, the mutual interest between Nordic countries and Tamil Nadu has grown substantially. Nordic companies from the fields of aquaculture, shipbuilding, research, hydro and wind power have been working with counterparts in Tamil Nadu and showing consistent growth.

During the visit, the Nordic ambassadors will meet representatives of several Nordic companies to discuss their success stories, challenges and the way ahead. There is also a growing cooperation between Nordic educational and research institutions and counterparts in Tamil Nadu.

The Nordic countries all show eagerness to contribute to develop infrastructure and local manufacturing in India, "the three biggest Finnish enterprises within local manufacturing in India play important role in contributing Tamil Nadu's maritime, telecommunication, logistic sector as well as infrastructure for people," Nina Vaskunlahti, Ambassador of Finland to India.

"Iceland and India are the two fastest growing economies in their respective regions and business relations between our two countries are growing. I firmly believe that the business opportunities are ample between Iceland and India especially in the areas of renewable energy, life style and in innovative high tech industries such as food processing technologies, medical devices, environmental technologies, biotechnology and digital technology. Tourism between the two countries is also fast growing and the Indian film industry is becoming a frequent visitor to Iceland," Thorir Ibsen Ambassador of Iceland to India.

"Historically, people from the Nordic region have frequented the Indian subcontinent. Sailors and merchants from the then United Kingdom of Denmark and Norway established several trading posts along the Indian coastline. In modern times, however, India and Norway's relationship transcend beyond that. The Norwegian Government Fund Global alone invest approximately USD 9,2 billion in India, making it one of the largest individual investors in the country. In recent times, Norway-India relations have begun a new chapter, on knowledge and research exchange, we co-operate on important topics such as global health issues and renewable energy. In Tamil Nadu, we are well represented in the maritime and renewable energy sector with companies such as Vik-Sandvik Design, Wallenius Wilhelmsen and WindSim, " Nils Ragnar Kamsvag, Ambassador of Norway to India.

"India is a very exciting place to be and an important country for Swedish business. Sweden and India share a long and successful cooperation and we are seeing an increase in bilateral trade and investments. Over the past two years, we have witnessed a historic momentum in our relations, highlighted by a State Visit by the Honourable President of India in Stockholm and by a bilateral meeting and Joint Statement by our two Prime Ministers. In Tamil Nadu, Swedish companies create approximately 27 000 jobs. Sectors which could be interesting to develop include automotive for green fuel vehicles, renewable energy, power, construction and digitalisation," Harald Sandberg, Ambassador of Sweden to India.