Modi invites Danish cos, pension funds to invest in India infra sector

Team Udayavani, May 3, 2022, 7:09 PM IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited Danish companies and pension funds to invest in India’s infrastructure sector and green industries.

Addressing media after his talks with Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, Modi said that over 200 Danish companies are already present in India and benefiting from the ‘ease of doing business’ initiative of the government.

”There are huge investment opportunities for Danish Companies and Danish Pension Funds in India’s Infrastructure Sector and Green Industries,” the Prime Minister said in a tweet.

Danish companies are operating in various sectors like wind power, shipping, consultancy, food processing and engineering.

Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen hosted Modi during his official visit to Denmark.

Meanwhile, a India–Denmark Joint Statement issued during the visit of Modi said the two Prime Ministers underlined the importance of bilateral trade and investments and stressed the need to maximise the potential of economic ties between the two countries. ”They affirmed that robust bilateral investments and trade flows through diversified, resilient, transparent, open, secure and predictable global supply chains would ensure economic security and prosperity of their peoples,” it said.

The two leaders, it added, also welcomed Danish investments in India especially in the renewable energy, water, terminals and port modernisation and expansion, food processing and engineering sectors and India’s investments in Denmark especially in the Information Technology sector. ”They noted that such investments have made India the country where Danish companies have the largest number of employees outside of Denmark,” the statement said. Further, both the leaders agreed that the opportunities created by the Green Strategic Partnership will likely lead to an upward trajectory in bilateral trade and investment.

”In this context, the two Prime Ministers welcomed the launch of the ‘India Green Finance Initiative’, which aims to contribute to financing green projects in India with the purpose of accelerating green growth and job creation in India,” the statement said.

On multilateral cooperation, the two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to a rules-based international order, and a strengthened and reformed multilateral system.

Modi and Frederiksen confirmed their commitment to work towards reforming the UN, including the UN Security Council, to make it more effective, transparent and accountable. Frederiksen reiterated Denmark’s support for India’s permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council, the statement said. Prime Minister Modi confirmed India’s support for Denmark’s candidacy for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for 2025-2026, it added.

The two leaders also agreed to expand the cooperation on agriculture by a Joint Declaration of Intent establishing among others a Centre of Excellence on Dairy.

Modi arrived in Copenhagen from Germany where he held detailed bilateral discussions with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and co-chaired the India-Germany inter-governmental consultations.

It is Prime Minister Modi’s first visit to Denmark.