Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Gothenburg on Sunday for a two-day visit aimed at deepening India-Sweden cooperation in trade, technology and defence, with bilateral commerce already touching $7.75 billion in 2025, according to livemint.com.
Swedish Air Force jets escorted Modi’s aircraft as it landed, after which he was received by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. The leaders are scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks covering defence manufacturing, green technology transfer and digital infrastructure, livemint.com reported. The visit follows Modi’s outreach to Dutch investors last week and forms part of a broader European swing intended to secure advanced technology partnerships before the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism takes full effect in 2027.
The engagement comes at a time when India’s defence imports from Sweden have risen 34% over the past three years, driven by Saab’s Gripen fighter offer and Bofors artillery upgrades, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute data cited by Swedish media. Comparable recent diplomatic moves include the 2024 India-France Rafale-M deal and the 2025 semiconductor pact with the Netherlands, both of which secured technology transfer clauses that New Delhi now wants replicated with Sweden’s Saab and Ericsson. For Sweden, India is the fastest-growing export market within the EU’s Indo-Pacific strategy, with telecom gear and climate-tech shipments growing 28% year-on-year.
Modi and Kristersson are expected to sign a joint innovation roadmap on Monday that sets a target of $10 billion in two-way trade by 2028, according to a briefing note released by the Swedish foreign ministry. Watch for announcements on a Saab-DRDO co-development facility for airborne early-warning systems and an Ericsson-CDOT 6G testbed in Chennai, both slated for unveiling before Modi departs on Tuesday evening.