PM Modi returns to Sweden for first visit since 2018: Here’s what’s on the agenda

PRime government minister Narendra Modi testament make it in Gothenburg on dominicus for the thirdly leg of his five-nation tour, with India and Sweden set to hold wide-ranging discussions on trade, innovation, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.The two-day visit, scheduled for May 17 and 18, comes at the invitation of Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, according to the ministry of external affairs. Officials said the trip will provide an opportunity to review India’s engagement with the European Union through Sweden.Modi had earlier visited Sweden in 2018 for the first India-Nordic Summit.What’s on PM’s Sweden agendaThis time, the Prime Minister is expected to hold bilateral talks with Kristersson covering the “entire gamut of bilateral relations”, with a strong focus on boosting trade and investment ties.The foreign ministry said discussions will span collaboration in “green transition, AI, emerging technologies, startups, resilient supply chains, defence, space, climate action and people-to-people ties”.The two leaders are also expected to jointly address the European Round Table for Industry, a major pan-European business forum, alongside president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.Officials said the visit assumes added significance after the recent conclusion of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement, with New Delhi looking to deepen economic engagement with Europe.The economic fallout of the ongoing Iran-US conflict is also expected to come up during discussions in Sweden, as it has in other legs of Modi’s tour, people familiar with the matter told HT.India-Sweden tiesAs bilateral trade between India and Sweden reached $7.75 billion in 2025, trade and investment are likely to dominate the talks. Swedish foreign direct investment into India has also touched $2.825 billion between 2000 and 2025.New Delhi is also looking to strengthen ties with Sweden’s innovation ecosystem, which is considered among the strongest in Europe. The country leads Europe in unicorns per capita. Its ecosystem of start-ups, research institutions and global firms is seen as complementary to India’s rapidly expanding entrepreneurship and technology sector.According to an earlier HT report, nearly 7% of EU companies operating in India are Swedish, making Sweden the European Union’s seventh-largest exporter to India. India, meanwhile, is Sweden’s eighth-largest export market outside the EU.The visit is expected to further deepen cooperation under the India-Sweden Joint Action Plan and the Joint Innovation Partnership launched after the first India-Nordic Summit in 2018.