India, Sweden to explore areas of cooperation in trade

NEW DELHI: Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will visit Sweden later this month to identify areas of closer economic cooperation between the countries.

Sitharaman will meet her Swedish counterpart Mikael Damberg on January 30 and will take stock of collaboration in trade, Counsellor, Trade and Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Sweden, New Delhi, Anna Ferry said.

"During the meeting the two Ministers will take stock of the collaboration in trade and investment and explore areas of closer cooperation," Ferry said.

Besides, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce today unveiled its Business Climate Survey which revealed a major positive shift in the perception of Swedish companies towards investing and expanding their operations in India.

Almost 90 per cent of the Swedish companies participating in the Survey assess the business and investment climate in India as more favourable as compared to 2013.

"The shift in perception can be largely attributed to the initiatives undertaken in India to provide a stable and predictable business environment," Swedish Ambassador to India Harald Sandberg said.

"Swedish companies employ more than 1.5 lakh people directly and 6 lakh people indirectly in India. The survey clearly shows that companies plan to employ more people," Ferry said.

According to the survey, 90 per cent Swedish companies in India perceive a favourable investment climate here as compared to only 51 per cent in 2013. The Swedish FDI in India was $2.3 billion in 2013.

"The key factor is that in the last 6 months there has been a new government in place which has unleashed a number of reforms," Chairman of Swedish Chamber of Commerce in India Kandarp Singh said. Around 150 Swedish companies currently operate in India.