NEW DELHI: At a recent summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Swedish counterpart Stefan
Lofven agreed to continue cooperating under the partnership of innovation and joint action plan. Sweden Ambassador to India, Klas Molin, told TNIE’s Pushkar Banakar that there are several areas where both the countries continue to cooperate on space, polar research, trade and investment and defence. He also thanked India for its support during the pandemic.
How have India-Sweden relations unfolded during the pandemic and what is the road ahead for bilateral ties in the post-pandemic era?
The pandemic has had a global impact. So naturally, it also affects how we conduct our bilateral relations. We have seen a dramatic decrease in travel for instance. Despite this, we are happy to note that trade and investments are increasing between our countries. Frequent interactions between our governments have taken place at various levels during the past year. If anything, our bilateral
relations have strengthened as geographical distance means less and less in a digital world. We are also very grateful for the support we received from the Indian Government in helping Swedish travellers return from India last spring.
Looking ahead, we want to continue being a close partner to India in the exchange of ideas and technology, trade and investment. We believe that India and Sweden have a lot to contribute when it comes to finding solutions to global challenges. For example, we have assumed global leadership for the green transition of heavy industries by establishing LeadIT (the Leadership Group on Industry Transition). We need to make sure more countries and companies join so that LeadIT can continue to drive the global green transition in hard-to-abate industries such as steel and cement. Our already very close cooperation in health and the life sciences has accelerated during the pandemic. We want to continue integrating our innovation ecosystems and deepening trade and investment further. The Sweden India Joint Innovation Partnership is a key vehicle to drive this development. Together, India and Sweden can play an important role in creating a green, healthy and sustainable tomorrow for our countries and the world.
With Sweden announcing its decision to join the International Solar Alliance, what kind of expertise about clean and renewable energy will it bring to the table?
Sweden is strongly committed to all types of renewable energy. India’s rapid expansion of renewable energy, particularly solar power, is very promising and will help in reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement. We appreciate India assuming leadership for the global roll-out of solar power by establishing the ISA and we hope that the organization can be an important catalyst in this process, not
least for the developing countries.
The decision to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) should be seen in light of the threat of climate change. India and Sweden both want to ensure and accelerate green recovery in the post-pandemic phase. To make full use of this opportunity, increasing international cooperation is necessary.
We are keen to explore what kind of Swedish expertise is most relevant to support the efforts of the ISA. For instance, integrating more renewable energy in the energy system requires adjusting electricity grids to become smarter and more flexible. This is an area where Sweden and Swedish companies have great expertise, including through major Swedish industry players such as Hitachi ABB Powergrids. The India-Sweden Innovations’ Accelerator (ISIA) has introduced innovative Swedish solutions in clean and renewable energy for many years now. This has created a pool of companies with solutions adapted for the Indian market. One example is the solar pumping systems provided by SPOWDI. We will be
happy to explore how this expertise and these technologies can be adopted in other countries through the ISA.
There has been a decision to scale up bilateral research and innovation on the circular economy and in the fields of health and life sciences. What kind of projects is being looked at to achieve the scaling up of cooperation?
We are curious to see how we can use our countries’ complementary strengths, coordinating the activities of India and Sweden for mutual benefit. One important tool is the joint calls, which provide a great opportunity for Swedish and Indian partners to apply for funding from agencies from our countries in developing and creating innovative solutions.
Electrification is key in the transition to a circular economy. There are already opportunities to apply for funding for joint industrial research and development projects on smart grids, through a program supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the Indian Department of Science and Technology (DST). In their joint statement from last week’s Virtual Summit, our Prime Ministers point to hydrogen research as an interesting area. We look forward to exploring this further. When it comes to health and life sciences, we have had an MoU in Healthcare in place for more than a decade. During the Virtual Summit, our Prime Ministers endorsed the vision of creating a Sweden-India Health hub at AIIMS-Jodhpur. One other area where cooperation is ongoing is digital health. Precision medicine is also an area where we could develop new partnerships. Together with the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and BIRAC, we recently organized a Sweden-India Roundtable discussion on Precision Medicine to explore new partnership opportunities.
Sweden ranks among the top five countries in the International Innovation Index. With India looking to give a major push for startups and entrepreneurs, what expertise sharing can be expected between the two countries?
Sweden is currently ranked 1st in the European Innovation Scoreboard and 2nd in the Global Innovation Index. Enabling the exchange of experience in innovation policies and the creation of innovation ecosystems goes to the very core of the Sweden India Innovation Partnership.
The India-Sweden High-Level dialogue on Innovation Policy established in 2019 was one important occasion where best practices from our countries could be shared. Policy experts from Sweden have been actively engaged in the consultations establishing India’s new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2020. There is also an ongoing exchange between the Swedish Intellectual Property Office
(PRV) and the Indian Patent Office on innovation and the role of intellectual property and we continually facilitate exchanges between incubators and startups from India and Sweden.
The Indian PM has urged more Swedish investments in India. Do you think more Swedish
firms like Ikea will set up shop in India? Do you expect any concessions from the Indian side in terms of investments?
Swedish industry has had a very strong presence in India for many years. Swedish companies are committed to India for the long haul. We are happy to note that major Swedish companies like Ikea, H&M, Sandvik and Autoliv, to name but a few, have been continuing to expand and invest heavily in India also during the pandemic. Nevertheless, there is always more potential for more Swedish investments in India and Indian investment in Sweden. For Swedish companies to thrive in India, a predictable and business-friendly regulatory environment, as well as good infrastructure, is key. Sustainability is at the core of their business models and so they need to have a regulatory
environment conducive to doing business in a green and sustainable way. It is my conviction that Swedish companies will be very happy to continue expanding their presence and continue creating good, green and sustainable jobs and opportunities in India!
