Denmark eyes more investments in water, renewable energy

Trade talk: Sumit Mazumdar (left), Senior Vice-President, Indian Chamber of Commerce with Freddy Svane, Ambassador of Denmark to India, and Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy during an interactive session in Kolkata on Friday.

KOLKATA, FEB 8: Denmark is looking to invest in sectors such as water management, renewable energy and education here in the country. According to Freddy Svane, Ambassador of Denmark, Memoranda of Understanding have been inked with the Delhi Jal Board and Gujarat Water Resources Development Corporation for water management contracts. Chances of arsenic contamination and wastages are pretty high here in India and we can provide a solution in this regard, Svane said. He was speaking at an interactive session organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). According to the Ambassador, renewable energy is yet another area of Danish business expertise. Nearly 25 per cent of Denmarks energy requirements are met through wind energy. This apart, the country was keen to explore tie-ups in the field of education. Indian IT remains an area of interest. According to him, bilateral trade between the two countries in 2012 (calendar year) accounted for nearly $1 billion. While Indian exports to Denmark include pharmaceuticals, garments, agri-products and machinery, Indian imports include machinery.

 FREE TRADE AGREEMENT Batting for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and India, Svane said that bilateral trade between India and Denmark was likely to improve once FTA were in place. Besides Denmark, the 27-member bloc EU consists of countries like Germany, France, Austria, Spain, Greece and Italy. They together form Indias largest trading partner. We dont have any issues on outsourcing. We are a strong and ardent supporter of globalisation which means we want joint solutions, he said. The India-EU free trade agreement plans to bring down tariffs (on goods) and liberalise trade in services. We hope that the FTA will be in place by the end of this year, he said. The talks were set to conclude sometime in 2011. But differences between the two sides have led to the delays.