Sixth Session of India-Norway Joint Commission Meeting held virtually

On October 13, 2020, the 6th session of India-Norway Joint Commission was held virtually where Indian delegation was led by Union Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Norwegian delegation was led by Ms. Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide, Foreign Minister of Norway.

• It was held to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations and to expand it further to boost trade and investment ties.
• Both sides decided to hold the next round of Joint Commission Meeting in Oslo, Norway at a mutually convenient date.
• Views were also exchanged on regional, multilateral and global issues of interest.

Key Point:

–The two sides hoped for an early conclusion of the India and EFTA (European Free Trade Association) trade negotiations. The four members of EFTA are Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

–They reiterated their commitment to cooperate closely in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and also welcomed the establishment of the global facility COVAX.

–Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to the bilateral cooperation on maternal and child health.

–Both sides showed their satisfaction on Dialogue on Trade and Investment (DTI) which accelerated participation of Norwegian companies in the flagship programmes of India. 

• Its first meeting was held in January 2020 in New Delhi which identified areas of cooperation to include maritime, fisheries, tourism, skill development, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) and renewable energy among other areas.

–There is significant progress made in the Ocean Dialogue and the initiatives undertaken by the Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development in areas such as fisheries, aquaculture, green technologies for maritime use, construction of vessels, ship recycling and green ports.

Recent Related News:

i.On 26 August 2020, India has joined the Djibouti Code of Conduct/ Jeddah Amendment (DCOC/JA) as Observer in order to collaborate with DCOC/JA member states towards for enhancing maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).With this, India joins Japan, Norway, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US) as Observers to the DCOC/JA.

ii.Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL) signed a contract to build the world’s first fully automatic electric vessel for ASKO Maritime, Norway. In this regard, CSL will construct and supply two autonomous electric ferries to ASKO Maritime at a cost of Rs 125 crore.

About Norway:
Capital– Oslo
Currency– Krone
Prime Minister– Erna Solberg