Prime Highlights
Modi pushed for the $100 billion TEPA investment target, saying it could create 1 million jobs in India.
India invited Norwegian investments in green hydrogen, renewable energy, shipbuilding, and critical minerals.
Key Facts
The summit brought together 50+ CEOs and over 250 participants from India’s and Norway’s business and research communities.
Several India-Norway business agreements were signed, signalling stronger economic cooperation under TEPA.
Background
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew to Oslo this week and joined Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at the India-Norway Business and Research Summit, making a direct pitch to corporate leaders from both nations.
Prime Minister Modi put the $100 billion investment target at the top of his agenda. He told the room that both sides need to push harder to hit that number under the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, or TEPA, which he said has already given bilateral trade and investment a visible boost since it came into force. He added that achieving the target would also open up roughly one million jobs in India.
He noted that the agreement has already strengthened trade and investment ties between India and its partners and encouraged stakeholders to intensify their efforts to achieve the target. According to him, meeting this objective could also help generate around one million employment opportunities across India.
He kept his message grounded in specifics, pointing to India’s young workforce, its upward economic curve, and a business-friendly regulatory setup as key draws for foreign capital.
He urged Norwegian investors to direct funds into shipbuilding, the blue economy, green hydrogen, health-tech, critical minerals, and renewable energy.
On climate, Prime Minister Modi laid out India’s expanding grid infrastructure and clean energy push, while praising Norway’s track record in ocean sustainability, maritime decarbonisation, and climate finance.
The summit drew CEOs from over 50 companies and more than 250 participants across business and research sectors. Before the main event, four roundtable sessions ran across Oslo, covering healthcare innovation, batteries, digitalisation, wind energy, and maritime cooperation.
Several business agreements between Indian and Norwegian companies were signed during the day. India’s Ministry of External Affairs called the summit a clear sign of growing economic momentum between the two countries following TEPA’s entry into force.
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