Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Sweden will lead to greater cooperation between the two countries in green technology, says Nila Vikhe Patil, the political adviser in the Swedish Prime Minister's Office.
Mr. Modi’s talks with Swedish Prime Minister Kjell Stefan Lofven were fruitful, she said.
The Indian Prime Minister visited Sweden last week with the purpose of striking up a collaboration on innovation and green technology — a mutually beneficial partnership to enhance opportunities and development for both the countries, Ms. Vikhe Patil said.
“I see a great potential for this collaboration. India has excellent world class engineers and unmatched out-of-the- box thinking on innovative solutions to problems,” she told PTI .
Sweden has a capital intensive labour market, it is at the forefront of green technology and feminist policies, and has a transparent tax and regulatory framework for start-ups, she said.
“I hope that this visit by Modi will be a great starting point for India and Sweden for a bright future with green technology and a new wave of technology disruption,” said Ms. Nila Vikhe Patil, the daughter of leading educationist in Maharashtra, Ashok Vikhe Patil.
“I also feel that religious and political unrest [in India] should be addressed. Without equal gender rights, we will go nowhere,” she said.
Sweden is one of the most feminist countries in the world, said Ms. Nila Vikhe Patil, the granddaughter of late Union Minister Balasaheb Vikhe Patil.
She was born in Sweden and spent early years at Ahmednagar in Maharashtra.
Sweden has been on a charm offensive towards India recently, supporting Mr. Modi’s ‘Make in India’ manufacturing summit with Mr. Lofven leading a delegation of the Swedish industry leaders to the launch event in 2016.
India is also an increasingly important market for Sweden, with more than 160 Swedish companies now established in the country.
