India And Sweden Agree To Strengthen Ties In Trade, Defence And Innovation

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) India and Sweden held the eighth round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) in New Delhi on Thursday, agreeing to strengthen cooperation in political engagements, trade and investment, defence and security, innovation, sustainability and people-to-people ties.

The two sides also discussed regional and global issues of mutual interest. Secretary (West) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Sibi George and Sweden's State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Dag Hartelius co-chaired the meeting.

"8th India-Sweden Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) were held in New Delhi today. Secretary (West) Sibi George co-chaired the FOC with State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Dag Hartelius. They reviewed all aspects of the bilateral relationship and agreed to strengthen it further in the fields of political engagements, trade and investment, defence & security, innovation, sustainability, and people-to-people ties," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal posted on X.

"They underscored that the recently concluded India-EU FTA marks a new chapter in economic & commercial ties and would facilitate deepening of India-Sweden trade, investment and technology linkages. The sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," he added.

On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met Hartelius in New Delhi, discussing bilateral cooperation and strengthening India-EU strategic partnership.

In a post on X, EAM Jaishankar wrote, "Good to meet Dag Hartelius, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. Spoke about advancement of our bilateral cooperation and deepening of India-EU Strategic Partnership."

Earlier in February, Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch visited India to attend the AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi. During her visit to India, Busch met Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on February 18.

"It was a pleasure meeting H.E. Ms. Ebba Busch, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden today. As innovation-driven and sustainability-focused partners, India and Sweden are poised to build a strong, future-ready digital and telecom partnership," Scindia posted on X following the meeting.

India and Sweden share close relations based on common values, strong business, investment and Research and development linkages and similar approaches to meet global challenges of peace and security and development. According to the Indian Embassy in Sweden, regular political engagement, intensifying business ties, cooperation on global challenges and multilateral issues define the strong India-Sweden partnership.

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