India-Sweden ties: Like minds, like ideas
“Our bilateral trade, which is about €8 billion now, is expected to double in the coming years,” said Jan Thesleff, Sweden’s ambassador to India, while talking to Business India. “And this is a conservative estimate”. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the EU (which will come into force in 2027) will also help in the bilateral partnership.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson had elevated the bilateral ties between the two nations to a formal strategic partnership in May this year. Underlining the importance of economic security and security of supply chains, the prime ministers announced the shared objective of doubling the bilateral economic exchange – trade and investment – within five years through ‘Make in India’, ‘Made with Sweden’ initiatives. They also agreed to hold an India-Sweden bilateral Summit in 2027.
During the visit, an India-Sweden Joint Action Plan (2026-30) was also endorsed to operationalise the elevated strategic partnership, providing a comprehensive roadmap for co-operation across political, economic, technological, security, climate and people-to-people domains. During 2023-26, there have been three PM-level interactions between the two nations and about 30 ministerial interactions. The strategic partnership rests on four pillars:
• strategic dialogue for stability and security;
• next-generation economic partnership;
• emerging technologies and trusted connectivity; and
• shaping tomorrow together – people, planet, health and resilience.
“We have a strategic partnership with India,” affirmed Thesleff. “India is a gigantic country, while we are medium-sized, but we don’t compete with each other; only complement each other. We will more than double our exchanges in trade, investments, and students.”
There are over 300 Swedish companies in India, such as IKEA, H&M, Volvo, Saab (to name a few), and over 105 of them have manufacturing facilities in India. IKEA, which operates eight stores in India, has announced it will double its investment in India to Rs21,000 crore by 2030.
There are close to 75 Indian companies in Sweden, which employ nearly 7,000 people. “Nearly 280,000 Indians are directly employed by Swedish companies,” estimated Thesleff. “And, if you include the supply chain, it could even be about 2.5 million Indians. At the European level, nearly 7 per cent of all European companies in India are Swedish”.
Preferred destination
Sweden is also fast becoming a preferred destination for Indian students, with the number reaching 6,500. “Most students come for postgraduate programmes, as there are over 950 courses in English that Indian students can choose from. For study, research and work, any student can manage in Sweden, as English is widely used. Students are also allowed to work to support their education and get a one-year extension to look for a job. The Schengen Visa enables them to travel to 22 nations in Europe,” the ambassador added.
More than 88,000 Indians live and work in Sweden (about 1 per cent of the country’s population). Sweden doesn’t have a migration and mobility partnership with any country, as it has a population of 10 million and can’t receive huge numbers of people. However, qualified individuals with skills and talent can get jobs.
Meanwhile, there has been an increase in the number of Swedish people visiting India. Nearly 40,000 people came during the last year. The Swedish Embassy has also issued 40,000 visas for Indians.
The only challenge is that there are no direct flights between the two countries. “When I came to India four years back, I was hoping to get our two countries connected directly through air. That task still remains to be done,” Thesleff remarked. PM Modi, during his visit to Sweden earlier this year, did talk about airline connections between the two nations.
“The first Swedish company came to India in early 1900,” informed Thesleff. “We are reliable, resilient, stable. We are living and have been living in turbulent times that began with the pandemic, and now there are armed conflicts in different parts of the world. In these kinds of stormy waters, we should stick together. In many ways, the relationship between India and Sweden is based on shared values and support of a rules-based world order.” We should stick together, he felt. For the two nations think alike – great minds always think alike.