India's Ministry of External Affairs and the Norwegian Foreign Ministry today signed an agreement on India-Norway Ocean Dialogue to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the area of sustainable use of marine resources.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India and Norway have agreed to intensify cooperation on issues related to the seas and oceans as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg held discussions on bolstering ties in trade and investment, blue economy, marine resources, climate change, sustainable development goals (SDGs) and renewable energy.

"Ocean economy is very important for the growth and development of India. Around 15 percent population of India lives in coastal districts. Their lives are directly linked with the ocean economy. Today we have started a new chapter of cooperation in the field of ocean economy. Our bilateral Ocean Dialogue will give impetus to our cooperation in all its related fields", Indian Prime Minister Modi said after having talks with the visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg in New Delhi on Tuesday.

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"We reviewed our bilateral cooperation and discussed ways to strengthen it", the Indian prime minister said. Modi and Solberg also discussed cooperation in achieving sustainable development goals.

"We held discussions on a broad set of issues including how we can accelerate our cooperation towards sustainable development goals and steps we can take to further strengthen our bilateral ties", Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg said while addressing media at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.





The blue economy is an area where both India and Norway have agreed to intensify cooperation.





"We have agreed to intensify our cooperation on issues relating to the sea — to a new joint task force on the blue economy focusing on integrated ocean management", Solberg said.





India and Norway signed an MoU to launch the "India-Norway Ocean Dialogue" for sustainable use of marine resources, bed mining, green technologies in shipping and other marine activities.





The Norwegian prime minister also added that the world will not be able to achieve sustainable goals unless India was on board.

Visiting Norwegian Prime Minister Solberg also met Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj. Earlier today, Solberg was given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. She is on a two-day state visit to India.