PM Modi holds talks with Danish counterpart Frederiksen

New Delhi, Oct 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held talks with his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen with a focus on expanding overall bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including renewable energy and trade and investment.

The Prime Minister received Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who began his three-day visit to India on Saturday, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi. She was accorded a ceremonial welcome.

The Danish PM will be meeting President Ram Nath Kovind before interacting with the think tanks and students apart from members of civil society.

"I see this visit as a milestone for our bilateral relations. Last year I and PM Modi signed and agree on a green strategic partnership. We see an ambitious Indian government to take great responsibility when it comes to green transition in India and the rest of the world," she said after the ceremonial welcome.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who was received by Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi at Delhi Airport on the wee hours of Saturday, is the first head of a state to visit the country since the Covid-19 restrictions came into effect.

India termed Mette Frederiksen's visit very important as she is the first head of state visiting India since COVID-19 restrictions are in place since last March. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had visited Denmark earlier this year.

India and Denmark have strong trade and investment ties. While 200 Danish companies operating in India, over 60 Indian companies have a presence in Denmark.

The two countries have collaborations in the fields of renewable energy, clean technologies, water and waste management, agriculture and animal husbandry, science and technology, digitisation including ICT, smart cities, shipping, etc.

India on Thursday said it remains engaged with Denmark on the issue of extradition of Kim Davy, the prime accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case. "We are focused on that. This has been on the agenda. We have raised it in the past and we remained engaged with Denmark on this issue and our discussions are ongoing on the subject," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

India has been demanding the extradition of Davy, the chief accused in the Purulia arms drop case, from Denmark to face trial in the sensational case.

The Purulia arms drop happened on 17 December 1995 when unauthorised arms were dropped from an Antonov An-26 aircraft in Purulia district in the state of West Bengal in India.