India and Denmark enter into unique green partnership

29 September 2020

Monday this week, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a virtual summit. At the meeting, Denmark and India entered into a far-reaching, green, strategic partnership that will place Denmark in a special position in relation to delivering the green solutions demanded by India.

It is a decisive indication of the ever-closer cooperation between the two countries, especially in the green area. Danish solutions within, among other things, wind power, water technology and energy efficiency are in great demand in India, and today's agreement can therefore pave the way for increased Danish exports and investments.

Rebuilding Danish exports

The Danish economy is hard hit by the corona crisis. In the first half of the year, GDP decreased by 8.8 per cent, although Denmark is among the countries that appear to be doing best through the first phase of the crisis. The world economy is set back significantly and the future prospects are uncertain. This affects the Danish export prospects and the export companies. One of the government's most important priorities is to restart and rebuild Danish exports.

“I see the agreement today as a completely unique way to give Danish export companies new opportunities in a market with a large, untapped potential. It is particularly important that it is in areas where Denmark has a leading position that we now have better opportunities to develop and expand our exports,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a press release (in Danish).

Green ambitions and major challenges

India is the world's largest democracy and it will soon be the world's most populous country. The Indian government has announced that it will increase its renewable energy capacity by more than 300 gigawatts by 2030 - this corresponds to more than 40 times the current Danish capacity for renewable energy. At the same time, India faces major challenges in areas such as drinking water and urban planning.

According to CleantechWatch (in Danish), Prime Minister Modi said in his conversation with his Danish peer that India has the size, and Denmark has the solutions, and now it is about reach and speed.

For the Danish government, the agreement is also a major step in the right direction to fulfil the government's green ambitions and desire to reduce global CO2 emissions as well as to support the work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Climate, trade and human rights

With the agreement, the two countries ensure closer multilateral cooperation in prioritised areas such as climate and green transition, trade and human rights.

“The green, strategic partnership with India is an important step in relation to Denmark's desire to create sustainable, green growth - both domestically and abroad. It is crucial for the fight against climate change that a country as large as India chooses to join the effort for the green transition. Here, Denmark can contribute with technology and green solutions,” said Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.

Source: Ministry of the State of Denmark (in Danish)