Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven along with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly inaugurated the Sweden Country Pavilion at the Make in India Week (MIIW) that kick-starts here today.
About 11 major Swedish companies, including ABB, Atlas Copco, Ericsson, IKEA, Sandvik, Tetra Pak and Volvo are participating in the Indian Government's flagship event that calls for companies to manufacture in India.
The companies will display various innovations and products that they make in India and will also talk about how Sweden has been able to achieve its status as a high quality country through smart manufacturing, a statement said.
“I congratulate the Indian Government for the ‘Make in India Week’ initiative which positions India as an investment and manufacturing hub. Swedish industry has always believed in India as a perfect trading partner – right from the time Ericsson laid the first cables in 1903 to current times when Swedish companies are looking to increase their investments and their manufacturing units in India,” said Harald Sandberg, Ambassador of Sweden to India.
There are around 160 Swedish companies in India that generate 160 000 jobs in India directly and 1.1 million indirectly.
Fredrika Ornbrant, Consul General of Sweden, Mumbai said “We are delighted to have the largest pavilion and the biggest delegation at Make in India this year. With a participation of over 18 companies this year, the enthusiasm and positive sentiment is visible. Swedish companies continued to invest and expand their manufacturing and operations last year. 45 per cent of the Swedish companies directed their investments to Maharashtra and out of the companies present in Maharashtra 85 per cent continued to invest in the State. This truly depicts our spirit of Make in Maharashtra. For Sweden, which is striving to be an open innovation driven economy, India is a natural partner and Maharashtra is one of the most important hubs for Swedish Industry in India. ”