New Delhi [India], April 21 : Swedish Minister for Infrastructure and Housing, Andreas Carlson, was on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral trade relations, sustainability, and aviation between Sweden and India.
On Friday, he met General VK Singh, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways, where they discussed how they can cooperate on air traffic management, airspace design, and ways to reduce carbon footprints, lower emissions and also strengthen competitiveness, and higher productivity.
Carlson said India is, by far, a larger country and Sweden is one of the EU's wide-distance countries. However, both countries have some similar challenges when it comes to connectivity in rural areas, he noted.
"When India plans investments in infrastructure and aviation, it also needs smaller aeroplanes. They work very hard on it in Sweden." he said.
"We see those electric aeroplanes in the developing phase right now, but they will be in the market in just five years. You can have electric flights for domestic shorter short-haul flights from the beginning. They can have a range for 800 kilometres with the 25 passengers combined with electric electricity and biofuel," he said.
They discussed how India and Sweden can learn from each other and work on the further development of the aviation sector. Both countries can work together to find ways forward, he noted.
The aviation sector has always been an enabler of economic development, job creation and connectivity. It contributes to both social and economic cohesion and is the major facilitator of global trade, he noted.
"We discussed on ways to promote aviation in a sustainable way, and in a way which reduces emissions and carbon footprints. We have common goals and India is significantly investing in building new airports and increasing their capacity. We are interested in learning from each other, share best practices and engage in discussion on an EU level and on cooperation between the EU and India," he said.
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