India as an emerging player and key to reckon with all the geopolitical volatility, can placed as an inevitable player in the international arena. This statement seems to agree with Norway in a recent media interview. Explicitly and wholeheartedly, Andreas Motzfeldt, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Norway stated that navigating the ongoing volatility is impossible without placing New Delhi as an inevitable player. Any global solution is not possible without India’s help- he further added.
Speaking to the media, at the India-Nordic Summit, Mr Kravik described New Delhi as fundamental to progress in most of the significant issues in the world. Without India, the solution seeking for the global problems is next to impossible. The Nordic country’s official representative at the Summit further appraised New Delhi’s role to say that India has a unique approach to finding the solution, which is very different from the rest of the countries in the world.
The current global problems such as Climate change, the eroding of multilateralism and others are consistently disturbing the world, New Delhi as a key player has the potential to ensure collective commitment. The recently concluded G20 Presidency of New Delhi is also a key factor, which shows New Delhi’s commitment to the global common concerns and finding their solution with the collective notion.
The theme of G20 this year: ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam- One Earth, One Family, One Future’ also gives a powerful message for the world that advocates for striving for just and equitable growth for all in the world.
India-Nordic Summit
The first India-Nordic Summit took place in 2018 in Stockholm. The six countries have been committed to global security, economic growth, innovation and climate change as the key challenges which need immediate attention. In the post-pandemic year, in 2022, the summit has assessed the economic recovery and potential of renewable energy in the midst of deteriorating climate conditions and evolving security situation.
Source: World Atlas
In 2019, on the sideline of the Summit, India and Sweden’s bilateral talks fruit global results in the form of the joint global initiative to set up a Leadership Group on Industry Transition (LeadIT) at the UN Climate Action Summit to guide the greenhouse gas emitting industries for adopting the low-carbon economy. The Nordic countries are a group of countries in Northern Europe- Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland.
India-Norway: longstanding commitment
India and Norway have had an evolving relationship since 1947. Though the consulates of Norway are from the pre-independence era, the signing of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) by New Delhi in 1986 and its revision in 2011 during the Singh government has deepened the economic engagement between the two countries.
Source: M3India
In 2018, the then-Norwegian government launched a new “India Strategy”, which sets 5 clear priority areas of cooperation until 2030. Those five areas are Democracy and rule-based world order, The oceans and UNCLOS, Energy for a better future, Climate change, and Research and development for global health. The joint launching of India-Norway Task Force on ‘Blue Economy’ for achieving SDG in 2020 further concretized the bilateral commitments.
Citing India as a ‘vital partner’, Kravik highlighted New Delhi’s role as a ‘bridge builder’ for Oslo. The engagement of New Delhi in the major global realm while balancing its national interests is really remarkable. The official representative further added that Norway is looking for more areas of cooperation with India. The business community of Norway is also eager to have more investment options in India, as it is important due to one of the largest markets in the world. The reliability and India’s leadership are now beyond question and the Norwegian minister reiterated the same.
