Prime Minister Erna Solberg will be taking a break from negotiations to expand her government this weekend, when she flies off on an official visit to India. The visit was planned long before the Christian Democrats finally decided to consider joining Solberg’s non-socialist government coalition.
The visit is scheduled over two days, January 7 and 8, when Solberg and her delegation will concentrate on business cooperation between the two countries, along with government cooperation on cleaning up the seas, gender equality and promotion of global sustainability goals.
Solberg, who will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India’s President Ram Nath Kovind, will be accompanied by a large Norwegian business delegation on the visit to New Delhi. All eye opportunities within shipping, fish farming and renewable energy as India develops offshore activity in the Bay of Bengal and Indian Ocean.
The visit is also timed to coincide with her government’s new “India strategy” (external link) that was unveiled in Oslo by her foreign minister Ine Eriksen Søreide last month. It centers on the need to protect and strengthen a multilateral trading system, along with providing a “stable framework” for trade and investment and strong maritime connections. “For Norway,” Søreide said, “missing out on the rise of India is not an option.”
Solberg will also officially open a new Norwegian embassy complex in New Delhi during the two days.
newsinenglish.no staff
