During the Global Investors Summit 2023 held in Lucknow, India, Denmark and the Government of Uttar Pradesh signed an agreement for Denmark to help clean River Ganges and its tributary river Varuna. With the new agreement, Denmark is committed to establishing a ‘smart river laboratory’ that will ensure purity, serenity, and a pollution-free river. The MoU was signed by Swatantra Dev Singh, Minister of Jal Shakti, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and Denmark’s Minister of Cooperation, Development and Global Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen.

Minister Swatantra Dev Singh highlighted that the relations between India and Denmark are several decades old, with encouraging cooperation between the two governments even during the COVID pandemic.

A centerpiece in the Indo-Danish relation is the Green Strategic Partnership which sets out a joint direction to cooperation within green transformation, namely energy and water. Speaking about the partnership, Minister Dan Jørgensen said that this tie-up sets a direction based on scale, skills, speed, scope, and sustainability. He underlined that the project of rejuvenation of the Ganges’ tributaries, especially the Varuna river in Varanasi, will give new opportunities to the people living nearby:

“It is a very important project that can contribute to creating healthier and better lives for millions of Indians. Denmark has exactly the skills that this extensive water purification project requires. Therefore, it makes sense that we help here. I look forward to working with the local authorities on this important task,” Dan Jørgensen, Minister of Cooperation, Development and Global Climate Policy.

Aiming to demonstrate how more Indian rivers can become clean in a sustainable manner, the upcoming river laboratory in Varanasi is the first in several steps that will be taken as part of the Danish-financed study. Based on a long legacy of sustainable water management and purification, Danish authorities and companies with competencies within the water sector will be involved in the project.