PRESIDENT OF INDIA ADDRESSES INDIA-ICELAND BUSINESS FORUM ON THE FINAL DAY OF HIS STATE VISIT TO ICELAND; SAYS ICELAND'S TECHNOLOGICAL PROWESS AND INDIA'S SCIENTIFIC SKILLS COULD EMBRACE EACH OTHER TO DRIVE THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Rashtrapati Bhavan : 11.09.2019

The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, addressed the India-Iceland Business Forum in Reykjavik, Iceland today (September 11, 2019).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that India’s growth and commitment to sustainability and Iceland’s business strengths make for a natural partnership. Iceland’s capacity in the fields of geothermal energy, circular economy, financial services, fisheries, food processing, shipping, tourism and innovation are second to none. It is a pioneer in green technologies, be it carbon capture, energy efficient buildings or waste-to-wealth projects. Its economic success is a story that many would like to emulate. India’s transformative growth programmes and next-generation infrastructure projects present immense opportunities for Icelandic companies.

The President said that India’s growth and Iceland’s niche capacities complement each other. There is scope to enhance economic partnership in several areas-from trade, investment, services to research and innovation. Our bilateral trade figures are modest. But Indian market and Iceland’s business strengths can add significant numbers to them. Iceland can look at sourcing manufactured goods, fruits and vegetables, textiles, chemicals and engineering goods from India. There is a lot that can happen between India and Iceland in the pharma, healthcare and biotech space. Finance, hospitality and tourism services also present significant opportunities.

The President said that Iceland’s technological prowess and India’s scientific skills could embrace each other to drive the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the machine-intelligence age. Our Start-ups working on robotics, ecology and marine litter can be the potential anchors of our future engagement, in Iceland, India or in any other part of the world.

Later in the day, the President will meet Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir of Iceland at a working lunch hosted in his honour.

The President will leave for Switzerland – the second leg of his visit this afternoon.