India, Denmark decide to expand ties in health and agriculture sectors

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen on Saturday held “fruitful” talks with a focus on expanding cooperation in a range of key areas such as health, agriculture, water management, climate change and renewable energy.

In his media statement after the talks, Modi said both sides reviewed the progress made under the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership and deliberated on further expansion of overall cooperation in multiple sectors.

The two sides also inked four agreements that will provide for deepening of cooperation in areas of science and technology, climate change and skill development.

“A year ago today, we took the historic decision to establish a Green Strategic Partnership between India and Denmark in our virtual summit. This is a sign of far-reaching thinking and respect for the environment by both our countries,” he said.

In her remarks, the Danish prime minister complimented Modi for his focus on green technologies and described him as an “inspiration for the rest of the world”.

“I am also proud that Danish solutions play a key role when it comes to your very ambitious targets and I think you are an inspiration for the rest of the world. You have set some very ambitious targets when it comes to clean water for over one million households and for renewable energy including off-shore wind,” she said.

The green partnership, finalised at a virtual summit between the prime ministers of the two countries, aims to create a framework for significant expansion of cooperation in areas of renewable energy, environment, economy, climate change and science and technology.

Describing the talks as “fruitful”, Modi said both sides decided to cooperate in areas like efficient supply chain, smart water resources management and technologies relating to the farm sector to increase agricultural productivity in India.

“Great pleasure to welcome PM Mette Frederiksen on her first visit to India. Our Green Strategic Partnership is focused on clean technologies and green growth. Our collaboration across sectors is vibrant and dynamic,” Modi tweeted later.

In her media statement, Frederiksen said the cooperation between India and Denmark is a great example of how green growth and green transition go hand-in-hand.

She said both sides decided to boost cooperation, particularly in the health and agriculture sectors.

Frederiksen arrived here early this morning on a three-day state visit.

Earlier in the day, Modi welcomed Frederiksen to India at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Danish prime minister also visited Rajghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

Ahead of the talks between the two prime ministers, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on Frederiksen.

“Welcomed Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on her first visit to India. Our Green Strategic Partnership will advance further as a result,” Jaishankar tweeted.

India and Denmark have strong trade and investment ties. More than 200 Danish companies are present in India and over 60 Indian companies have a presence in Denmark.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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