Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry while welcoming Mr Sten Tolg-fors, Swedish Minister of Foreign Trade has appreciated the Swedish Government's desire for enhanced engagement with India and welcomed Sweden's strong interest to deepen and diversify relations with India in the area of trade and commerce.
Shri Kamal Nath was speaking at the bilateral meeting during the visit of Mr Sten Tolg-fors, Swedish Minister of Foreign Trade here. The meeting was attended by senior officials from both the sides as well.
Observing that the relations between India and Sweden are stable, friendly and multidimensional with visible signs of an enhanced desire on both sides to deepen the level of engagement in all areas, Shri Kamal Nath expressed satisfaction that the bilateral trade between the two countries has increased by 55% during 2006-07 as compared to trade in 2005-06. While India's export to Sweden has increased by 19%, Swedish export to India has shown a growth of 65%.
On FDI and investments, the Commerce and Industry Minister noted that while investment flows from Sweden are encouraging and even though Sweden is 12th largest investor in India, there is considerable room for larger investments in India, particularly in areas such as infrastructure and renewable energy.
“Sweden with its large number of MNCs has had a long history of presence in India. There has been traditional reluctance on the part of the Swedish small and medium industries to come forward to invest in India but in recent years these industries are also exploring India due to inherent advantages of cost benefits and a growing market. We, as governments, must do our best to help the SME sector engage bilaterally”, Shri Kamal Nath, stated.
India's main imports from Sweden are in the areas of electronic goods, computer software in physical form, machinery and gold.
India's main exports to Sweden are readymade garments cotton including accessories, manufacturers of metals, cotton yarn, fabrics and carpets, etc. The percent share of India's exports of ten principal commodities to Sweden constitutes 65%.
Press Information Bureau Government of India
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