The Eighteenth Session of India-Sweden Joint Commission for Economic, Industrial and Scientific Cooperation (JCEC) was held in New Delhi on 17 May, 2017. The Indian delegation was led by Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce and Industry Minister. The Sweden delegation was led by by Ms. Ann Linde, Minister for Trade and EU Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Both sides expressed their satisfaction that considerable substance and contents had been added to bilateral relations during the last 2 years and reiterated their mutual desire and commitment to further strengthen the existing trade and investment relations and all-round bilateral cooperation.

The deliberations at the JCEC meeting provided an excellent opportunity to review the current state of ongoing cooperation in diverse fields such as Trade and Investment, Sustainable Urban development, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Environment, Education, Health, Renewable Energy, Science & Technology, etc.

The two sides also identified Telecommunications, Sustainable Urban transport and road safety, traditional medicine and Food Science & technology as other areas where potential for cooperation exists.

Some of the highlights of this JCEC are:

• The two sides are working towards a Memorandum of Understanding in order to strengthen the cooperation in the field of Intellectual Property. It was also agreed to expedite the finalization of other bilateral agreements currently under discussion.
• Both sides expressed interest on promoting innovation partnerships between the two countries.
• The two sides agreed to establish mechanisms for Swedish/Indian companies to facilitate their investments and business in India and Sweden. The two sides further agreed for regular meetings between Indian and Swedish Governments/ businesses for facilitating the same.
• Both sides agreed to have mid-term reviews on the progress of achievements in Sweden and India, alternatively.

Intellectual Property cooperation advances bilateral innovation partnerships and investment facilitation with alternating mid-term reviews. The parties agreed to pursue a Memorandum of Understanding on Intellectual Property cooperation, expedite finalisation of other bilateral agreements, promote innovation partnerships, establish mechanisms to facilitate Swedish and Indian business investments with regular government-business meetings, and conduct alternating mid-term reviews to assess progress across trade, investment and sectoral cooperation areas.