VMPL
New Delhi [India], October 3: India-Sweden Innovation Day 2025 set new benchmarks in advancing collaboration across Clean Energy, Artificial Intelligence, Green Manufacturing, Circular Economy, Mobility, Smart Cities and Industry 4.0. The event strengthened the joint commitment to climate resilience and inclusive growth ahead of the COP 30 summit.
A key highlight of the upcoming COP 30 summit will be the announcement of projects under the India-Sweden Industry Transition Partnership (ITP), launched at COP 28 by the Prime Ministers of both nations to fast-track decarbonisation in critical sectors such as cement and steel.
The 12th edition of this flagship event co-hosted by the Embassy of India in Sweden, and the Sweden-India Business Council, Confederation of Indian Industry and organized by India Unlimited,. Focusing on the theme “Co-Creating a Sustainable Future: Scaling Innovation Through Partnership,” the event convened global leaders, industry pioneers, and policy innovators to explore the transformative potential of cross-border collaboration.
Reflecting on the long-standing ties between India and Sweden, H.E. Shri Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Government of India, said,” India and Sweden share one of the strongest partnerships. India is rising fast on the global innovations map, ranking first in Central and South Asia and 38th in the world, while Sweden is already a global leader in innovation and is ranked second in the world. The visit of our Honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, to Sweden in 2018 and the visit of their Majesties, the King and the Queen of Sweden, to India in 2019 opened doors for deeper trade, investment, and innovation ties. Both our countries are committed to a greener planet through programmes like LEAD IT 2.0, which focuses on low-carbon industries, and smart transport. Events like India-Sweden Innovation Day bring us together to share ideas, create solutions, and strengthen our cooperation.”
Further highlighting the significant advantages of the India-Sweden partnership, H.E. Anurag Bhushan, Ambassador of India to Sweden, Government of India emphasised the unique strengths each nation brings to the table.
“The consistency with which India and Sweden enjoy a long history extending across decades is remarkable. Innovation is at the heart of Sweden, with a bouquet of technologies, innovative thinking, and robust processes. On the other hand, India offers immense skill and a vast talent pool. The Government of India has been working very hard on innovation, with a $12 billion fund being set up by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) to promote R&D. This reflects a very natural complementarity between the two countries, and this is something we need to take advantage of,” said the
Ambassador.
Over the years, strategic collaborations between India and Sweden have given rise to impactful platforms such as the India-Sweden Innovations Accelerator and LeadIT, both key in fostering bilateral engagement across clean technology, industrial innovation, and sustainable development.
“We are living in very turbulent times now, for different reasons, still calibrating after the pandemic. In this era, the friendship between Sweden and India continues to grow even stronger, and events like Sweden India Innovation Day play an important role in this. India is a regional power, and we are shaping our strategy now from ‘India for India’ to ‘India for the world.’ It is important that we continue to drive this, as it will go hand in hand with social and ecological development, and with competitiveness,” said Martin Lundstedt, President & CEO, Volvo Group, Member of India Sweden Business Leaders’ Roundtable (ISBLRT).
India-Sweden Innovation Day 2025 featured comprehensive panel discussions covering Accelerating Global Competitiveness, Defining the Future of Travel, Fostering an AI-Enabled Business Ecosystem, Water-Smart and Circular Solutions for Resilient Cities, AI & Quantum Computing, Health & Life Science, and Expanding Economic Partnership via theIndia-EU Free Trade Agreement.
Underlining the essential role of ambitious, global initiatives like LEADIT, Mr. Per Andersson, Head of Secretariat, LeadIT, Stockholm Environment Institute emphasised how joint endeavours and enabling public private partnerships can drive green transition.
“LEADIT today includes 18 member states and 28 companies. We strongly believe that global public-private partnerships can drive the transition. We are making the case that this approach makes sense–both strategically and commercially. I truly believe the vision shared by the two prime ministers at COP28 emphasized that technical co-development between LEADIT companies should be supported, highlighted, and encouraged. We think we can play a meaningful part in this and would be happy to collaborate as we move forward,”said Mr. Andersson.
Another critical domain where India and Sweden demonstrate strong joint synergy is heavy industries. From steel and cement production to advanced manufacturing technologies, enhanced investments and technology exchange from Sweden will be crucial in shaping a resilient, future-ready industrial landscape.
”India-Sweden ties are enabling concrete collaborations, especially in driving the green transition in heavy industries like steel and cement. Our economic partnership is growing steadily, with bilateral trade nearly doubling in the past six years and Indian exports to Sweden increasing by 17% last year. With close to 300 Swedish companies already in India and rising Indian investments in Sweden, we see enormous potential ahead. A future EU-trade agreement would open even more doors, bringing predictability and trust for businesses of all sizes,” said H.E. Sara Modig, State Secretary to Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Swedish Ministry of Climate and Enterprise.
With a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union expected to finalise by the end of this year, India and Sweden will further receive a boost in cross-border investments. It is expected to reduce trade barriers and unlock new opportunities for both Indian and Swedish companies to drive economic growth and societal transformation.
Mr. Ludvig Lindstrom, Senior Advisor, Swedish Energy Agency, shared insights on how a 360-degree alliance between organisations can fuel the transition to sustainable energy systems by fostering cross-sector alliances.
”By engaging stakeholders at every level, public bodies, large companies, incubators, and clusters, we have created a landing platform that empowers companies to connect and collaborate. Moreover, we need to further strengthen our relationships with all types of stakeholders, including public institutions, large enterprises, incubators, and innovation clusters, across the national, city, and state levels,” said Mr. Lindstrom.
Echoing his views on leveraging complementary strengths and betting big on the Indian market, Mr. Kamal Bali, President & MD, Volvo Group India and Co-Chairman, CII Europe Council stated, “We are making India our fourth international hub, driving manufacturing for global markets. With trust between both governments at record highs, we are also making heavy investments in the country. The good news is that FTA negotiations are on a very good track, and as per industry sources, it should be finalised before Christmas this year, and there are no major challenges. Additionally, all our APAC offices are shifting to India from other geographies. Considering India’s 1.4 billion people with diverse use cases, and Sweden’s leadership in technology and innovation, alignment between the two countries would be an unbeatable proposition,” said Mr. Bali.
The India-Sweden Innovation Day 2025 also explored the immense talent pool available in India with its expanding base of highly skilled engineers, tech entrepreneurs, and research professionals. The country offers a dynamic reservoir of human resources that can power Sweden’s innovation ambitions.
“For Sweden to actually remain a strong innovation hub, it needs talent and there’s only one place in my mind we can get the talent from, India. Furthermore, the level of investments in innovation and R&D in India needs to come up as well. We also need a lot more engineers coming to Sweden and work with the Indian companies, government, and institutions in order to move forward. I think what we have envisioned over the last 10 years has been perfect, and now we need to take the next step: to identify a few organizations and start inviting them to this forum,” said Mr. Robin Sukhia, Secretary General & CEO, Sweden-India Business Council.
Marking 20 years of Science and Technology cooperation between India and Sweden, the event also delved into disruptive technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing, with experts exploring how these fields can reshape both industry and society. The dialogue highlighted the significance of designing robust digital ecosystems for global markets.
Another key highlight of the event was an engaging Technology Leadership Fireside Chat, focusing on harnessing AI for sustainable innovation in engineering and R&D. The conversation highlighted the need for a multifaceted approach to build industry leading AI platforms for enhancing operational efficiency and reducing carbon footprint.
The event culminated with an in-depth discussion on the India EU Free Trade Agreement, promising to continue supporting collaboration for shaping future-ready industries via investment, and joint technological advancement.
”The free trade agreement will be extremely important for Swedish companies, especially considering the CETA agreement in 2017, which doubled our trade with Canada. Furthermore, owing to a free trade agreement with South Korea, we have increased our trade by 87 percent. From both the EU and the Indian government sides, there is a very strong commitment to concluding the agreement before the end of this year. It’s a huge market with over a billion consumers, combined with the 450 million consumers in the EU. Just six years back, our trade was 13 billion SEK; now it’s above 22 billion Swedish crowns, with 300 Swedish companies operating in India,” said Ms. Camilla Mellander, Director General for Trade Policy, Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
The esteemed delegates departed with renewed momentum, committed to transforming dialogue into action and actively shaping solutions to address the pressing challenges of the globe.
India Unlimited is a trailblazing initiative backed by the Indian Embassy in Sweden, the Sweden-India Business Council, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and other partners to facilitate economic and cultural alliance between India and Sweden. As the visionary CEO of India Unlimited, Mr. Sanjoo Malhotra has pioneered multi-stakeholder engagement by bringing together government leaders, industry experts, and entrepreneurs to shape inclusive platforms like India-Sweden Innovation Day.
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