India-EU FTA will be negotiated at aggregate level, says Swedish envoy

Sweden Ambassador to India, Klas Molin on Friday said that Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and India will be negotiated at an aggregate level as per the special mechsm set up during the last summit.

"I know there are high talks going on investment and trade. There is a special mechsm set up during the last summit between India and the EU, so agreements on this will be negotiated at an aggregate level. Bilaterally a lot is happening as Swedish compes are employing heavily and employing lots of people creating jobs and growth," Molin told here.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a virtual interaction with his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven on Friday where the two leaders discussed bilateral ties and called for further cooperation on climate change.

Responding to a question pertaining to the summit, Molin said, "They very much reinforced the partnership that exists between Sweden and India, we have a joint action plan, we have strategic innovation partnership for sustainable future. There are a number of areas where we continue to cooperate on space, polar research, trade and investment and defence."

"Health is another area which has received lots of attention last year given the situation under the COVID-19 pandemic. So, both prime ministers agreed to continue cooperating under the partnership of innovation and joint action plan," he added.

He also added that Sweden looks forward to working together with its Indian colleagues in a number of areas both government to government sector and also the private sector as well.

One of the important areas discussed today's summit was the need for international cooperation to combat climate change and the Swedish envoy lauded India's role in the area where he said that India plays an important role where the initiative of the international solar alliance "is one important step".

The envoy said, "The Swedish government is very happy to announce that it will be joining and it was one of the areas discussed between the prime ministers in the call today. India plays an important role already and this initiative will further the international cooperation with new ideas for sustainable future and renewable energy."

Speaking about India's vaccine diplomacy under the vaccine maitri program, Molin remarked that India is doing an important job not just for the country but also helping neighbours as well. Prime Minister Modi in the summit said that India has delivered 'Made in India' COVID-19 countries to about 50 countries.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic was also discussed and it was recognised that India is doing very important job at the moment in developing, producing vaccines nationally and rolling this vaccine out its own population as well as helping neighbouring countries and exporting vaccines to countries far away," the Swedish envoy said.

Earlier in the day, the two countries held a virtual summit headed by PM Modi and his Swedish counterpart Lofven.

"Excellent, productive virtual Sweden-India Summit w. @narendramodi. Launched joint projects on innovation, climate and health cooperation to fight the pandemic & build back stronger, greener & more equal societies. Discussed regional affairs & efforts to strengthen multilateralism," the Swedish Prime Minister tweeted.

India and Sweden have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas such as elderly care, infection control, digitalization, non-communicable diseases, and start-ups.

According to the joint statement, the two leaders held a wide-ranging discussion during the summit. They welcomed the creation of a Sweden-India Health Hub at AIIMS-Jodhpur.

The Prime Ministers expressed their appreciation for the longstanding cooperation under the Memorandum of Understanding on Health, which continued during the current pandemic.

"They agreed further to strengthen bilateral cooperation on thematic areas such as elderly care, infection control, digitalization, non-communicable diseases, and start-ups," the joint statement read.

"The two Prime Ministers welcomed the creation of a Sweden-India Health Hub at AIIMS-Jodhpur. They agreed that their respective Health Ministers may explore how this vision can be realized," it added.

( With inputs from ANI )

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