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India, Sweden a perfect match, says PM Stefan Lofven

3 decades after Bofors, 2 nations discuss defence

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven at the Rosenbad government headquarters in Stockholm on Tuesday
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Three decades after the Bofors scam hit India's political landscape, sealing further defence cooperation with Sweden, the two sides on Tuesday unveiled a joint action plan committing to finalise a bilateral agreement on the exchange of mutual protection of classified information for co-operation in the defence area.

The agreement will open up new areas in defence cooperation and will also encourage industry partners to develop supply chains for small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) with major Defence & Aerospace Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).The move will also aid Sweden's Saab in its bid to sell its Gripen jet to replace India's Soviet-era MiG fighters.

Last week, India issued a request for information on 110 combat jets for the Air Force, marking the first step toward a long-delayed deal that could be worth more than $15 billion.

The joint action plan was unveiled after Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed a host of issues with his Swedish counterpart Stefan Lofven in Stockholm. Modi is the first Indian prime minister to visit Sweden in 30 years.

The two leaders had a "fruitful discussion on issues related to cooperation in innovation, trade and investment, culture and exchanged views on regional and multilateral cooperation at the delegation-level talks," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Besides a joint action plan, the two sides signed another document — Innovation Partnership — to maximise bilateral cooperation. "Sweden has been a strong supporter of the 'Make in India' initiative from the beginning. Prime Minister Lofven had participated in our 'Make in India' programme in 2016, along with a big business delegation," Modi said. He said innovation, investment, start-ups, manufacturing etc. are the key aspects of cooperation between the two countries.

"A key pillar of our bilateral ties is our defence and security cooperation," the Prime Minister said, "In the defence sector, Sweden has been India's partner from a long time. I have faith that in future also in this sector, particularly in defence production, there will be plenty of opportunities for bilateral co-operation. We have decided to strengthen our co-operation in the security sector, particularly in cyber security."

On his part, Prime Minister Lofven lauded India as 'global power' and said the two countries are a 'perfect match'. He said there has been an intensification of cooperation in areas such as green technology and smart cities. The Innovation Partnership covers several areas, including smart cities, transportation and eMobility, energy, clean technologies, new materials, space, circular and bio-based economy, and health and life sciences.

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