Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday met his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen and held bilateral and multilateral talks to boost ties between the two nations.
Mr Modi, who is on a three-day trip to European nations, arrived in Copenhagen from Berlin, and was received by Frederiksen at the airport.
The leaders held one-on-one and delegation-level talks largely focused on post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, innovation and technology, renewable energy, the evolving global security scenario and India-Nordic co-operation in the Arctic region.
“We discussed a number of regional and global issues, including India-EU relations, Indo-Pacific and Ukraine,” Mr Modi said in Hindi.
“We also discussed our co-operation in the field of climate. India is also committed to fulfilling the resolutions taken at the Glasgow Cop-26. We have agreed to explore more opportunities for cooperation in the Arctic region,” he added.
Both the leaders also reviewed progress of the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership—a five-year-action plan created for co-operation in renewable energy, environment, economy, climate change, and science and technology.
The Indian prime minister hoped for a swift conclusion of the negotiations on the India-EU Free Trade Agreement and stressed on ensuring a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Asia-Pacific region, where New Delhi is aiming to restrict Chinese influence in alliance with the US.
The negotiations on a free trade agreement resumed last year after being held since 2013 over issues like patent protection and tariff reductions.
Mr Modi later met the Indian diaspora and praised the community for being “peaceful and hardworking”.
The Indian leader on Wednesday will attend the Second India-Nordic Summit.
Mr Modi’s visit to Denmark comes a day after he wrapped his visit to Germany on the first leg of his trip where he met German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin.
The two leaders led a business round table event and discussed topics such as climate co-operation and supply chains.
On Monday, he had appealed to end the Ukraine war saying that no country will emerge victorious from the conflict.
New Delhi has maintained a neutral stand on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Modi will briefly stopover in Paris and meet French President Emmanuel Macron, who was re-elected to a second-term last month, before heading back to New Delhi.
