Commitment to democracy makes India, Nordic nations natural partners: Modi

India and the Nordic countries are committed to “democracy, rule of law and multilateralism”, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Tuesday, speaking after the Third India-Nordic Summit. The summit, where Mr. Modi met leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, ended with a decision to upgrade ties between India and the five northern-most European countries to a ‘Green Technology and Innovation Strategic Partnership’. In particular, they will work on initiatives for sustainable energy, maritime cooperation and polar research in the arctic region, the leaders said. “Our shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and multilateralism makes us natural partners. And our shared priorities in technology and sustainability make our relationship full of opportunities,” said Mr. Modi, standing with Prime Ministers of Norway (Jonas Gahr Støre), Finland (Petteri Orpo), Iceland (Kristrún Mjöll Frostadóttir), Sweden (Ulf Kristersson) and Denmark’s acting Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. Mr. Modi has held bilateral meetings with all the leaders in the past few days. His meeting with Ms. Frostadóttir, one of the world’s youngest leaders, was a first since she was elected in 2024, and Mr. Modi is understood to have invited the Icelandic leader to visit India next year. “The world needs more close sambandh (relations),” Ms. Frostadóttir said during the press meet, referring to the word that holds the same meaning in Hindi and Icelandic. During the press statements, each of the leaders spoke about their vision for India-Nordic ties. Warning that geopolitical uncertainty would continue for the foreseeable future, Mr. Orpo said that India and the Nordic countries must continue the conversation on global turbulence and announced that the next India-Nordic Summit would be hosted by Finland. Increasing trade – given that Denmark, Sweden, and Finland are part of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement announced in January 2026, and Norway and Iceland are part of the India-European Free Trade Agreement – was also part of the discussions. India at present does a combined trade of $19 billion with the five Nordic countries combined, a relatively low figure compared to other European countries and regions. The summit was Mr. Modi’s last engagement before leaving for Italy for the last leg of his si day five-nation tour to UAE and Europe. A joint statement issued by all the leaders noted that India and the Nordic countries need to deepen their engagement to address global challenges, and all five Nordic leaders backed India’s bid for a permanent seat in a reformed UN Security Council, and welcomed India’s application for Nuclear Suppliers Group membership. “As leaders of vibrant democracies and large open market economies, they underscored their shared interest in fostering a robust and resilient global order based on international law that promotes peace, stability, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development,” the joint statement issued after the summit said. It committed to upholding international law including the United Nations Charter, and shared values including “democracy, freedom, human rights, gender equality”. Given obvious differences over the Russia-Ukraine war, where India has not criticised Moscow thus far, the leaders only “expressed concern” over the war, and supported efforts for a just and lasting peace through “dialogue and diplomacy, based on the principles of the UN charter and of international law”. They expressed similar concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and backed the U.S.-led Board of Peace for the ceasefire plan endorsed by the UN Security Council in November 2025. The leaders called for the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran to “de-escalate” and for freedom of navigation and global flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz. In a strong paragraph on terrorism, India and the Nordic countries condemned the Pahalgam terror attack and the incident near Red Fort in New Delhi last year. They agreed to cooperate on combating terror financing at the UN and Financial Action Task Force, prevent terror groups from using new and emerging technology, and tackle terrorist recruitment. Denmark’s Mr. Frederiksen, who had hosted the previous India-Nordic Summit in Copenhagen, said that India as a major power and the Nordic countries, who together constituted a middle power, must engage more. “The old world order is changing rapidly, it’s not going in the right direction and therefore it is even more important than before that partners who really believe in democracy actually work together,” he said.