On Sunday 3rd January 2016 Swedish Consul General, extending concern on deteriorating air quality in India said that Sweden is keen to provide clean technology to the country. Consul General of Sweden, Fredrika Ornbrant addressing media in Mumbai told “Sweden has many years of experience in the field of clean technology. The much debated air quality, for example, could benefit from Swedish solutions.”
She also added that Swedish companies are strong enough to aid India in adopting sustainable transport measures, which is an important part of the ‘Smart City’ concept. Sweden has a long experience in decreasing emission from coal-based thermal power plants.
“A survey conducted by the Swedish Chamber of Commerce India found that 60 per cent of the respondent companies consider cost structure to be a competitive disadvantage, as regulations, inverted duty structure and trade barriers contribute to additional cost of operations,” she said.
Trade relation between both the countries has gained momentum after a decline spotted in last two years, exports and imports of goods between India and Sweden were cumulated to 2 billion in 2014 said Ornbrant.
The Swedish Consul General informing about the trade relations further added that, there was an increase of around 11% in exports of goods from India to Sweden, whereas growth in exports from Sweden to India remained limited to 6%, for the period of between January to September 2015.
In the media briefing Ornbrant also revealed that “However, services are not included in this figure. Indian export of services like information technology to Sweden is strong. We have around 20 Indian IT companies in our country.”
Swedish industry body Business Sweden estimates that around 10,000 people in India are supporting Swedish companies with IT services, the Consul General said.
On the other hand, Sweden exports engineering products, automotive and telecom equipment, pulp and paper and chemicals to India.
“Swedish high voltage equipment, for example, is contributing in electrifying India. The main Indian exports of goods are apparel and garments, machinery, vehicle parts, metal work and pharmaceuticals,” she added.
