India, Denmark agree to strengthen ‘green strategic partnership’

India and Denmark on Saturday agreed on a five-year action plan to take forward their unique “green strategic partnership” and signed four agreements aimed at boosting cooperation in green technologies and management of natural resources such as groundwater.

Following a meeting with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the green strategic partnership finalised a year ago reflected the foresight of both countries and respect for the environment.

“This partnership is an example of how by collective effort, through technology, one can work for green growth while preserving the environment. Today, we not only reviewed progress made under this partnership, but reiterated our commitment to increasing cooperation on climate change in the near future,” Modi said.

Frederiksen said cooperation between India and Denmark is a “great example of how green growth and green transition can go hand in hand”. She noted that while Denmark has the skills in the field of green technologies, India has the scale to use them to benefit a population of more than a billion.

“Our green cooperation is now part of a very ambitious five-year joint action plan,” Frederiksen said, adding there is huge untapped potential in trade and investment.

The five-year action plan for 2021-26 aims to consolidate green and low carbon growth and focuses on sectors such as water, renewable energy, climate action, circular economy, sustainable and smart cities, cooperation in intellectual property rights; maritime cooperation, food and agriculture and health and life science.

Among the four agreements signed on Saturday was a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the National Geophysical Research Institute in Hyderabad, and Aarhus University the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland on mapping groundwater resources and aquifers. This will pave the way for long-term collaboration to address groundwater depletion and deterioration of quality.

The Indian Institute of Science-Bengaluru and Denamrk’s Danfoss Industries Private Limited inked an MoU to establish a centre of excellence on natural refrigerants for tropical climates. The centre will spread knowledge of CO2-based cooling systems and offer skill development for installation and maintaining such systems.

A traditional knowledge digital library access agreement was signed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office, while the skill development ministry and the Danish government signed a joint letter of intent to explore collaboration in skill development.

Three commercial agreements announced on Saturday were an MoU between Reliance Industries and Stiesdal Fuel Technologies for developing a hydrogen electrolyser and its manufacturing and deployment in India, an MoU between Infosys Technologies and Aarhus University to establish a centre of excellence for sustainability solutions in Denmark, and an MoU between the Observer Research Foundation and State of Green on research on green transition.

Modi welcomed Denmark’s decision to join the International Solar Alliance, saying this has added a new dimension to bilateral cooperation. He also thanked Denmark for backing India at different international forums.

The two sides also decided to expand the scope of their cooperation, including a new partnership in health. “In order to increase agricultural productivity and income of farmers in India, we have decided to cooperate in agriculture-related technology. Under this, work will be done on technologies in many areas such as food safety, cold chain, food processing, fertilisers, fisheries and aquaculture,”, Modi said.

India and Denmark will also cooperate in smart water resource management, “waste to best”, and efficient supply chains.

Modi referred to Danish companies that have been working in India for a long time in areas such as energy, food processing, logistics, infrastructure and machinery, and said reforms in the domestic economy, especially steps in the manufacturing sector, are facilitating many opportunities for these firms.

Reenat Sandhu, secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry, told a news briefing that the issue of Kim Davy was raised in the meeting between the prime ministers. “We have an understanding that the legal process must go forward and both countries are working on it,” she said.

In 2012, India scaled down diplomatic ties with Denmark to signal its displeasure over the refusal of Danish officials to appeal in the Supreme Court against a lower court’s order barring Davy’s extradition. The two countries put their ties back on an even keel in 2018, when they decided to separate the Davy issue from the overall relationship.

Sandhu said Modi also briefed Frederik on developments in Afghanistan and the Danish side echoed India’s concerns about the situation and the risks of terrorism. “Both sides share similar views on protection of human rights, including women and minorities, the need to allow people to move freely and to leave the country, the importance of an inclusive government and to prevent terrorism,” she said.