India, Norway To Expand Economic Cooperation Leveraging TEPA

New Delhi, Feb 17 (KNN) Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held talks with Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Oslo, with both sides agreeing to deepen bilateral economic cooperation by leveraging the India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA).

According to a statement by the Ministry of Finance on social media platform X, the two leaders discussed expanding collaboration in priority sectors including renewable energy, particularly solar power, rare earth processing, and carbon capture and storage.

Both sides agreed to utilise TEPA to strengthen cooperation in emerging and sustainable domains such as the blue economy and green economy. Discussions also focused on enhancing investments through sovereign wealth funds and pension funds to further bolster economic ties, reported ANI.

Stoltenberg noted that India’s economic growth presents significant opportunities for investment and expansion. He also conveyed that Norway looks forward to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit later this year, expressing confidence that it would further strengthen bilateral engagement.

During her visit, Sitharaman also interacted Tuva Moflag, Head of the Finance Committee; Trine Lise Sundnes, Deputy Head, EFTA Committee; and Himanshu Gulati, Head, Indian-Norwegian Friendship Group. The discussions centred on enhancing mutual investment flows and cooperation under the TEPA framework.

The Norwegian parliamentarians welcomed the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit and expressed optimism about expanding India–Norway relations.

Sitharaman also invited Norwegian stakeholders to explore opportunities at GIFT City’s International Financial Services Centre (GIFT-IFSC), highlighting its world-class financial infrastructure, tax incentives and liberalised regulatory regime for global financial institutions.

(KNN Bureau)