With India and the European Union aiming to conclude nereceivediations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the finish of the year, Sweden is positioning the India-EU FTA as the “anchor” for bilateral ties in an increasingly volatile geopolitical environment. A recent visit by Swedish officials explored partnerships across sectors—from renewable energy to pharmaceuticals—during a four-day trip to India. In an exclusive interview with Pushpita Dey, Sofia Högman, Trade Commissioner of Sweden to India, spoke about how Sweden plans to strengthen its partnership with India. Edited excerpts:
For the European Union FTA with India, the nereceivediations are going on. So, what sort of tarobtain has Sweden set for itself after the India-EU FTA?
I believe the history between India and Sweden is very long. It goes back to 1903 when Ericsson was first established here in India. With regard to foreign trade agreements and the role we play as the Trade Council, we were very happy to welcome Minister (Piyush) Goyal during his visit to Sweden in June this year, where of course the discussions centred around the FTA nereceivediations. We are hopeful that these nereceivediations will conclude by the finish of this year. The EU-India FTA proposal was built almost a decade ago, and now we are witnessing it nearing conclusion.
As a close partner of India in these nereceivediations, what, in your view, were the key sticking points? What suggestions did you create to overcome those challenges?
When we talk about trade between Sweden and India, there are many complementary strengths between our two countries. So, we are hopeful that this agreement
will happen within this year. We are also glad that, after a few months of stalled nereceivediations, talks are picking up again. That gives us reason to remain optimistic.
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