Trade, security, wars likely to be focus of Naredra Modi’s Europe tour

E-PaperSubscribeSubscribeEnjoy unlimited accessSubscribe Now! Get features like Trade and security cooperation, the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia and coping with disruptions in energy and trade supply chains are expected to be in focus during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s four-nation visit to Europe next month, people familiar with the matter said. India NewsThe visit is expected to take Modi to the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy during May 15-20, the people said on condition of anonymity. The PM will participate in the third India-Nordic Summit while in Norway, and he is also expected to make a brief stopover in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the start or end of the visit, the people said. Last year, Modi called off a planned visit to Croatia, Norway and the Netherlands after India’s military strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the Pahalgam terror attack. The visit to the three countries was planned during May 13-17, 2025, but it could not go ahead because of the four-day conflict between India and Pakistan. The visit to the Netherlands is aimed at bolstering cooperation in areas ranging from trade to the green economy, the people said. The two sides have strengthened cooperation in areas such as water, health, clean energy, defence and security in recent years, and a key breakthrough in collaboration in semiconductors is expected during the visit, they said. An Indian trade delegation visited the Dutch semiconductor hub of Eindhoven in March to discuss investment opportunities as New Delhi accelerates its efforts to build a chip industry. Dutch chip equipment maker ASML has announced plans to open a support office in India. The visit will also set up the first in-person meeting between Modi and his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten, who became PM in February. The two leaders spoke on phone for the first time in March and discussed bilateral ties and the fallout of the West Asia conflict. The trip to Sweden will be an opportunity to review cooperation in key areas such as trade, innovation and technology with a member of the European Union (EU), the people said. Sweden had also hosted the first India-Nordic Summit in 2018 and the two sides have a wide-ranging joint action plan and a joint innovation partnership. The third India-Nordic Summit will be the centrepiece of the visit to Norway, which is also a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) that concluded a free trade agreement with India in 2024. The India -Nordic Summit brings together the leaders of India, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. The first summit was held in Sweden in 2018 and the second in Denmark in 2022. The PM’s visit to Italy is expected to focus on shoring up cooperation in areas ranging from trade to security and people-to-people ties, the people said. Italy is a key member of the EU and the India-EU free trade agreement, which is expected to enter into force early next year, is expected to figure in the discussions, they said. The economic impact of the Iran-US conflict, especially the disruption of energy and other supply chains and the efforts to end the war, is expected to come up in all legs of the visit, the people said. The stopover in the UAE will allow the PM to review bilateral relations during a meeting with President Mohamed bin Zayed al Nahyan, and also to discuss the upcoming Brics Summit to be hosted by India in September, the people said. The UAE is among the countries that joined Brics when it was expanded in 2024. The stopover will also be an opportunity for the Indian side to shore up energy supplies from the UAE and to discuss the welfare of the four-million-strong diaspora in the Emirates. he UAE is India’s fifth largest source for fuel, accounting for almost 6% of total crude imports, and the third largest source of LPG and petroleum products. India has made an outreach to key West Asian suppliers of energy in recent days, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar recently travelling to the UAEand petroleum minister Hardeep Puri to Qatar. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval also visited Saudi Arabia to review the regional situation and to shore up India’s energy security. Rezaul H Laskar is the Foreign Affairs Editor at Hindustan Times. His interests include movies and music.