India, Denmark inks four MoUs, including on skill development, groundwater resources

India and Denmark on October 9, 2021, exchanged four agreements following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen.

The Prime of Denmark arrived in New Delhi early on October 9 and held bilateral talks with PM Modi. On her visit, she also called on President Ram Nath Kovind and interacted with the students, think tanks, and members of civil society.

As per the External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, the Danish PM’s visit to India is an opportunity to review and further the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership.

Mette Frederiksen’s visit to India is also significant as she is the first head of state visiting India since COVID-19 restrictions are in place since March 2020. Earlier in 2021, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had also visited Denmark.

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. 🇮🇳 🇩🇰 @Statsmin pic.twitter.com/fgyuoMp8TF

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 9, 2021

Four MoUs signed between India and Denmark

1. The first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-National Geophysics Research Institute, Hyderabad, Arhas University, Denmark, and Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland on mapping of the groundwater resources and aquifers.

2. The second was signed on the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library Access Agreement between the Danish Patent and Trademark Office and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.

3. The third agreement between India and Denmark was signed between the Danfuss Industries Private Limited and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. It aims at establishing a Centre of Excellence towards natural refrigerants for tropical climates with potential applications.

4. The fourth agreement was a Joint Letter of Intent between The Government of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

India and Denmark sign two agreements on Climate change

As Prime Minister Modi met with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, both the nations signed two agreements on the research in climate change.

An MoU to set up a ‘green hydrogen’ electrolyser plant was also signed between Danish Company Stiesdal Fuel Technologies and Reliance Industries.

After the bilateral summit, Prime Minister Modi said, “We also took a decision today that we will continue to expand the scope of our cooperation, adding new dimensions to it. We have initiated a new partnership in the field of health. In order to increase the agricultural productivity and income of farmers in India, we have also decided to cooperate in agriculture-related technology.”

Danish PM Meets External Affairs Minster

On October 9, the Prime Minister of Denmark also met the External Affairs Minister of India S Jaishankar and said that her ongoing India visit will advance the Green Strategic Partnership between the two nations.

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

Welcomed Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on her first visit to India.

Our Green Srategic Partnership will advance further as a result. pic.twitter.com/QRCZbHlSyq

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 9, 2021

Frederiksen on her visit to India

While speaking on her visit, the Danish Prime Minister said that she sees her visit to India as a milestone for the relations between the two nations. She said, “We consider India as a close partner. I see this visit as a milestone for Denmark-India bilateral relations.”

Speaking after the ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan, she added that she sees an ambitious Indian Government taking responsibility for the issue of green transition in India as well as the rest of the world.