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New Delhi:
Acknowledging India’s position because the “pharmacy to the world”, main European nation Sweden stated it’s specializing in increasing bilateral cooperation within the areas of well being and life sciences in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
Swedish Ambassador Klas Molin additionally stated Sweden and India stand “firmly and unequivocally” within the struggle towards terrorism at the same time as he famous the rising Indian position within the Indo-Pacific area.
On the long-pending free-trade settlement between India and the European Union, the envoy stated there may be nonetheless some work to be achieved in calibrating expectations and scope on each side, noting that it will likely be mutually helpful for each side.
Mr Molin advised PTI that total bilateral ties between India and Sweden have been glorious and that each side are broader cooperation in eight key areas together with innovation, commerce and investments, well being and defence.
“The pandemic has focused our thinking, and our cooperation in health and in life sciences has increased.
“India is the pharmacy to the world and a few of our firms, some already established right here, some venturing right here now, are in search of new matchups,” the ambassador said.
“AstraZeneca is a widely known instance, presently in section three trials for a COVID-vaccine, but additionally researching and growing in India in different areas,” he said.
India has supplied medicines and other medical assistance to over 150 countries in the last few months to help them deal with the coronavirus pandemic at a time when the country itself was reeling under its impact.
India’s medical assistance has drawn recognition from several countries as well as multilateral fora.
As the world anxiously waits for a COVID-19 vaccine, British-Sweden pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford are holding trials of a vaccine candidate.
In India, AstraZeneca is partnering with the Serum Institute of India (SII) for the potential vaccine.
To a question on security issues, Mr Molin said that India and Sweden stand together firmly and unequivocally in the fight against terrorism.
He also noted that “India is taking up a rising position within the Indo-Pacific and is deepening its cooperation with different international locations, each regional and from exterior, as a way to defend its pursuits and assure free navigation of and secure maritime passage in worldwide waters”.
“The worldwide group has an curiosity in defending these frequent items in addition to in combating terrorism,” he added.
On the border row between India and China in eastern Ladakh, the ambassador said tensions of “this sort” that lead to the loss of lives are “naturally very critical”. “I believe it is secure to say that there have already been some repercussions and penalties, as an illustration within the financial and tech fields.
“Hopefully, the talks underway will lead to a de-escalation and a more stable situation,” he stated.
Asked concerning the proposed India-EU FTA, Molin hoped that the selections taken at this 12 months”s summit between the 2 sides will pave the way in which for the resumption of negotiations.
“We firmly believe that an FTA would be mutually very beneficial. There is still some work to be done in calibrating expectations and scope on both sides.
“This 12 months’s EU-India Summit opened on a high-level financial dialogue. Hopefully, it will pave the way in which for resumption of negotiations,” he said.
The FTA talks have been stalled since May 2013, when both sides failed to bridge substantial gaps on crucial issues, including data security status for the IT sector. Launched in June 2007, negotiations for the proposed agreement have witnessed many hurdles.
Asked how the overall ties progressed after the visit of Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia to India last year, the ambassador said the relations have been “glorious” and it was reflected in the visit.
“The pandemic has meant that among the contacts have been targeted on new areas as we attempt to assist one another deal with this unprecedented problem,” he said.
The ties between India and Sweden are on an upswing in the last few years. In April 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Stockholm during which both sides agreed to further deepen innovation partnership for a sustainable future.
It was a visit to Sweden by an Indian prime minister after nearly three decades.
Asked about Sweden-India Nobel memorial week, Molin said this year the programme comprised several elements “which strengthen the synergies our two international locations share as companions with complementarities”.
“We are additionally envisaging a digital interplay between Swedish Trade Minister Anna Hallberg and the 200 plus Swedish firms in India, the place the minister would give her outlook on world commerce and funding eventualities, and extra particularly developments for Sweden and Swedish business within the ongoing pandemic,” he stated.
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