Indo-Swedish trade up 55% in 2006-07

New Delhi, Sep 3 (UNI) India today called upon Sweden to help their small and medium industries to invest in the country to take advantages of cost benefits and growing market.

During an interaction with Swedish Minister of Foreign Trade Sten Tolg-fors here, Commerce and Industry Minsiter Kamal Nath said investment flows from Sweden are encouraging ( Sweden is 12th largest investor in India), but there is a considerable room for larger investments, particularly in areas such as infrastructure and renewable energy.

Mr Nath said though Swedish multinational corporations has had a long history of presence in India but small and medium industries have been reluctant to invest. He said the two governments should do their best to help SME sector to engage bilaterally and take advantages of cost benefits and a growing Indian market.

He expressed satisfaction that the bilateral trade between the two countries has increased by 55 per cent during 2006-07 as compared to trade in 2005-06. While India's export to Sweden increased by 19 per cent, Swedish export to India showed a growth of 65 per cent.

Welcoming Sweden's strong interest in deepening and diversifying relations with India in the area of trade and commerce, Mr Nath noted that relations between their countries are stable, friendly and multi-dimensional with visible signs of an enhanced desire on both sides to deepen the level of engagement in all areas.

UNI