India’s Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Dr Jitendra Singh held a bilateral meeting with the Minister for Climate and Environment of Norway Espen Barth Eide on the side-lines of the UN Ocean Conference Lisbon, Portugal and discussed several issues of mutual interest.
The meeting comes close on the heels of the 5th India-Norway Task Force meet in New Delhi last week on Blue Economy between Norwegian Ambassador to India, Hans Jacob Frydenlund and the Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary Dr M Ravichandran.
The Task Force Meet agreed on new projects and a roadmap for connecting ocean industries on both sides. Both the Countries agreed to explore more cooperation on Green Maritime, Sustainable Ocean Management, Deep Ocean Technology and Offshore Wind.
Dr Jitendra Singh and Mr Espen Barth Eide expressed satisfaction over the progress made so far in the5th India-Norway Task Force meet. The two sides also reviewed the dialogue and progress on issues like integrated ocean management, marine pollution, green shipping, ocean based renewable energy etc.
The two Ministers appreciated the ongoing close cooperation between the two countries and hoped that the partnership grows from strength to strength in future.Dr Jitendra Singh referred to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Norwegian counterpart Mr. Jonas Gahr Store in Copenhagen on the side-lines of the 2nd India Nordic Summit last month, where Modi highlighted that Norway's skills and India's scope provided natural complementarities.
Quoting Prime Minister Modi on the Copenhagen meet, Dr Jitendra Singh underlined the potential for deepening engagement in areas like Blue Economy, renewable energy, green hydrogen, solar and wind projects, green shipping, fisheries, water management, rainwater harvesting, space cooperation, long term Infrastructure investment, health and culture.
Dr Jitendra Singh also referred to a pilot project between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT KGP) agreed in January this year to improve interdisciplinary skills, digital literacy, and critical thinking of undergraduate students.The Indian Minister emphasised that these skills are highly needed with the growing demand for new technologies and innovative solutions in the maritime sector.