Denmark has emerged as India's key partner in transitioning towards an advanced green economy, in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat 2.0 mission coupled with a massive urban clean water drive.
Visiting Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, impressed by the massive scale of India's green economy drive, has called PM Modi "an inspiration for the rest of the world". Frederiksen, who began a three-day visit on Saturday, is the first head of government to visit India, since the Covid-19 crisis broke out.
"You are an inspiration for the rest of the world as you have set some very ambitious targets when it comes to clean water for over 1mn households and renewable energy. I'm proud that you have accepted my invitation to visit Denmark," Frederiksen said as she addressed the media with PM Modi in New Delhi today.
India's Swachh Bharat 2.0 mission and Mission AMRUT targeting sewage and septic management and making cities water safe docks with the fulfilment of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
Expanding their Green Strategic Partnership, India and Denmark signed four agreements. "We consider India as a close partner. I see this visit as a milestone for our bilateral relations," Frederiksen said after the ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"We are a democratic country and we are determined to work together in areas such as health and agriculture. The cooperation between India, Denmark is a great example of how green growth and green transition can go hand in hand," she added.
Denmark is the only country in the world with which India has a Green Strategic Partnership. During their talks, both leaders also agreed to give a big push to strengthening political, economic and commercial relations between the two countries.
While reiterating India's commitment to increasing cooperation on climate change in the times to come, PM Modi said that this partnership is an example of how by collective effort, through technology, while preserving the environment, one can work for green growth.
He said that Denmark becoming a member of the International Solar Alliance has added a new dimension to cooperation between both the nations.
PM Modi highlighted that the Danish companies, working in India for a long time in many areas like energy, food processing, logistics, infrastructure, machinery, software, have contributed significantly in making "Make in India for the World" a success.
"Danish expertise and Danish technology can play a very important role in the scale and speed with which we want to move forward, which is our vision for the progress of India. The reforms in the Indian economy, especially the steps taken in the manufacturing sector, are presenting immense opportunities for such companies," said the Indian Prime Minister.
Both Modi and Frederiksen also decided today to expand the scope of cooperation by adding new dimensions to it, including in the field of health and agriculture.
"In order to increase the agricultural productivity and income of farmers in India, we have also decided to cooperate in agriculture related technology. Under this, work will be done on the technologies of many areas like food safety, cold chain, food processing, fertilizers, fisheries, aquaculture, etc. We will also cooperate in areas such as Smart Water Resource Management, 'Waste to Best', and efficient supply chains," said PM Modi.
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