Sweden to partner Digital India mission, smart cities

Sweden, the Scandinavian country known for its culture of innovation and high quality of life, is poised to partner India in its key schemes of national resurgence, including Digital India, skill development, smart cities and Make in India.

The net takeaway from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven on the sidelines of the ‘Make in India’ week in Mumbai on February 13 was Stockholm’s enthusiasm for boosting the Digital India mission, with its expertise and technological innovations. The two sides are planning to set up f a new Joint Working Group on Digital Technologies and Economy. With growing digitization of the Indian economy and the banking system, and the burgeoning internet population of around 300 million, expertise from countries like Sweden will aid the process of enhancing e-governance, e-commerce and cyber security. Cyber security has been identified as an important area of cooperation, with Indian systems found to be increasingly vulnerable to hacking and cyber attacks.

Think Smart

Sweden is also set to bolster India’s ‘Smart Cities’ initiative, with the two countries looking to firm up a Joint Action Plan, focusing on digital land management, solid waste management and urban transport. Mr Löfven, who is also the chairman of the Swedish National Innovation Council, extended an invitation to an Indian delegation to visit Sweden for a bilateral Sweden-India Innovation dialogue. India and Sweden have identified information technology and digital industries as key drivers of growth and prosperity.

India and Sweden encouraged companies to consider opportunities to scale up skill development that would cover a larger number of people, with the two countries focusing on mutual benefits of facilitating labour mobility.

India Opportunity

With the world’s fastest growing economy unleashing new opportunities for investment, Sweden is looking at India anew. Acknowledging the potential under the ‘Make in India’ initiative the two sides recognised possibilities between their respective defence industries that could be identified and taken forward appropriately, including in the field of aviation, said a joint statement after talks between the two leaders.

“India’s economic development and rise as a global power have created new opportunities to further deepen and extend this partnership to foster economic growth and inclusive development in both countries as well as to meet global challenges,” said the joint statement.

Bilateral trade is estimated to be $2.4 billion (as of 2014-15). Sweden is home to 9,000 persons of Indian origin, including 5,003 PIO/OCI card holders and 10,406 Indian passport holders living in Sweden.

In the context of their economic relationship, the two countries also welcomed the prospect of resuming talks on India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).

Global Issues

The two sides are set to expand their cooperation on a range of global issues, including the reform of the United Nations, finalization of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism, climate change and nuclear security issues. Sweden’s support for India’s membership of top global nuclear export regimes is significant given the Scandinavian country’s hawkish record on non-proliferation issues.

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