Reykjavik, Sep 29 (IANS): India and Iceland discussed opportunities to further strengthen engagement in the renewable energy sector and green technology.
The discussions took place during a meeting between India’s Ambassador to Iceland, R. Ravindra, and Iceland’s Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate, Johann Pall Johannsson. The two sides also spoke about the Prosperity Summit set to be held in New Delhi on October 7.
“Ambassador R. Ravindra met with H.E. Johann Páll Jóhannsson, Minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate of Iceland. The discussions focused on the upcoming Prosperity Summit, to be held in New Delhi on 7 October, and opportunities for further bilateral engagement in the renewable energy sector and clean/green technology,” the Indian Embassy in Iceland posted on X.
Last month, R. Ravindra held a meeting with Iceland’s Minister of Infrastructure Eyjolfur Armannsson, with discussions held on green shipping, capacity building and fisheries-related matters.
“Ambassador R. Ravindra paid a courtesy call on Eyjolfur Armannsson, Minister of Infrastructure, on August 18. Ambassador briefed about the upcoming ‘Sagarmanthan: The Great Oceans Dialogue’. Ambassador also held a meeting with Ingilin Kristmannsdottir, Permanent Secretary and Arni Freyr Stefansson, Director at the Ministry of Infrastructure. Discussions were held on Green shipping, capacity building and fisheries-related matters,” the Embassy of India in Iceland said on social media platform X.
In May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Icelandic counterpart Kristrun Frostadottir held a meeting on the sidelines of the third India-Nordic Summit in Oslo, during which they discussed strengthening cooperation in areas such as clean energy, fisheries, sustainability, geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage.
This was the first meeting between PM Modi and Frostadottir since the latter assumed office. Prime Minister Modi congratulated his Icelandic counterpart Frostadottir for being the youngest Prime Minister in the history of the Nordic island nation.
The two leaders discussed deepening ties, particularly in the context of the coming into effect of the India-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), according to the statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The two leaders also reviewed the progress of bilateral cooperation in sectors such as geothermal energy, fisheries, innovative technologies, creative economy, culture, tourism, mobility, and people-to-people contacts. They also discussed enhancing cooperation in Arctic research.
In a post on X, PM Modi stated, “Had a wonderful meeting with Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir of Iceland. India deeply values the friendship with Iceland. We talked about ways to improve ties in areas such as clean energy, fisheries, sustainability, geothermal energy, carbon capture and storage and more. Iceland’s prowess in sectors relating to the Blue Economy is admirable. We are hopeful that the historic India-EFTA TEPA will give an impetus to trade and investment linkages as well.”
