Sweden's Ambassador Thesleff Discusses India Ties in Space

- In a recent interview with DD's Meghna Dev, Sweden's Ambassador to India, Jan Thesleff, emphasized the growing partnership between Sweden and India, particularly in sustainability and space cooperation.

When asked on India and Sweden cooperation, especially when you have the theme of sustainability, where are we at in terms of these sustainable goals? The Ambassador said "India and Sweden started its sustainability journey together quite a long time ago," referring to their 2018 innovation partnership initiated by both Prime Ministers. He highlighted the Leaded 2.0 program, launched at COP 28 (Conference of the Parties) in Dubai, aimed at reducing emissions from heavy industries like steel and cement.

On the topic of recent foreign office consultations, he explained, "The Foreign Office consultations are taking stock of all the things that are happening." He mentioned the BEST project on battery energy storage technologies, stating, "Batteries are the important thing for the future." A Nordic delegation will visit India in November to collaborate on this initiative.

Regarding space cooperation, Ambassador Thesleff shared insights from a visit to ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) in Bangalore with Sweden's Deputy Minister. "We had very good deliberations with ISRO," he said, adding, "Sweden has already done our little share with previous missions like Chandrayaan." He expressed eagerness to continue contributing technology and expertise in future space endeavors.