STOCKHOLM: India and five Nordic countries on Tuesday reaffirmed the importance of free trade as a catalyst for achieving inclusive growth and realising the Sustainable Development Goals amid rising protectionist tendencies displayed powerful economies.The six Prime Ministers at their first ever summit jointly hosted by India and Sweden also acknowledged that terrorism and violent extremism are major challenges for the international community. They discussed global security, including cyber security , based on their shared values of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and their commitment to uphold the rules-based international system in the backdrop of China's ambitions that has challenged rules based global order.Challenge to rules based global order is also a challenge to free trade championed by the Nordic countries. ET was first to report that India-Nordic summit will have the issue of rules based global order as a key item on the Summits agenda.The PMs also discussed export control and non-proliferation. The Nordic countries welcomed India’s application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group and reaffirmed their commitment to work constructively within the Group with the aim of reaching a positive outcome at the earliest opportunity.The Nordic countries agree that India is a strong candidate for a permanent seat in a reformed Security Council expanded with both permanent and non-permanent members.The Prime Ministers agreed that a strong partnership can help spur innovations, economic growth, sustainable solutions and mutually beneficial trade and investments.The Prime Ministers noted that the unique strengths of India and the Nordic countries offer immense opportunities for trade and investment diversification and mutually beneficial collaboration. During the talks, the importance of the rules-based multilateral trading system as well as open and inclusive international trade for prosperity and growth was underlined.The Ease of Doing Business practices were emphasised as a priority for both the Nordic countries and India.During the Summit, the Prime Ministers pledged to deepen cooperation between the Nordic countries and India, and focused their discussions on key issues related to global security, economic growth, innovation and climate change. The Prime Ministers reaffirmed the importance of free trade as a catalyst for achieving inclusive growth and realising the Sustainable Development Goals.The Prime Ministers acknowledged that innovation and digital transformation drive growth in an interconnected world, and underpin a growing engagement between the Nordic countries and India. The role of the Nordic countries as global innovation leaders was underlined. The Nordic approach to innovation systems, characterised by a strong collaboration between public sector, private sector and academia, was discussed, and synergies were identified with India’s rich pool of talent and skills.The Summit emphasised the Indian Government’s strong commitment to innovation and digital initiatives as key to prosperity and sustainable development, with national flagship programmes such as Make in India, Startup India, Digital India and Clean India. Nordic solutions in clean technologies, maritime solutions, port modernisation, food processing, health, life-sciences and agriculture were mentioned. The Summit welcomed the Nordic Sustainable Cities Project aimed at supporting the Smart Cities Program of the Indian government.Prime Minister of Denmark Lars Løkke Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Finland Juha Sipilä, the Prime Minister of Iceland Katrín Jakobsdóttir, the Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg and the Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven held a Summit hosted by the Swedish Prime Minister and the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi