Nordic countries bat for greater globalisation

“We are the torch-bearers for continued globalisation,” said Nils Ragnar Kamsvag, Norwegian Ambassador to India.

“We have benefited from globalisation” and small open economies like ours could not have developed without it, he said referring to the team of Ambassadors from five Nordic Countries who interacted with journalists of The Hindu Group.

There is a backlash against globalisation in the West but “we are not a part of it,” he clarified.

Ambassadors Peter Taksoe-Jensen (Denmark); Nina Irmeli Vaskunlahti (Finland); Thorir Ibsen (Iceland) and Harald Sandberg (Sweden) enthusiastically concurred.

The diplomats are visiting Chennai as part of an annual visit to various cities to expand trade and cultural ties.

“There is continued popular support for globalisation,” emphasised Sandberg.

Taksoe-Jensen said the widespread benefit that their populations have seen — an effective system for redistribution of wealth — has contributed to the sentiment.

It has also helped the countries manage the financial crisis and the immigration crisis of 2015.

Their remarks gain significance in the backdrop of the recent protectionist moves of the US government and Brexit. “We need to see what it leads to,” said Taksoe-Jensen of US’s recent change in stance. It is doubtful if the movement of companies to destination where costs are lower and markets available can be stopped, he felt.

Vaskunlahti said the countries have integrated due to their common culture and heritage ties. Rules had been integrated and the borders open. To Finland, trading with Norway or with Denmark is no different.

Together the Nordic countries are the 11th biggest economy with a total population of about 27 million. They have invested over $20 billion in India through more than 500 companies, generating about 2.7 lakh jobs.

The investments span diverse areas including high technology, renewable energy, manufacturing and information and communication technology.

Sandberg said Indian students constitute the largest non-European segment in Sweden, till recently it was Chinese students.

Taksoe-Jensen said it is important for the Nordic countries have had a traditionally open environment to strengthen ties with India.

With its economy growing at about 7 per cent, its GDP doubles every 8-10 years. Though there have been some setbacks, the “numbers are moving in the right direction,” he said.

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