By IANS,
Kolkata : Praising India for the way it showed restraint after the Mumbai terror strikes, Sweden Thursday called for greater cooperation between New Delhi and Islamabad in tackling the menace of terrorism.
“I think there can be greater political cooperation between India and Pakistan (in combating terrorism),” Swedish Ambassador to India Lars-Olof Lindgren said here.
“Very importantly, the Indian government has shown restraint in a difficult situation. The Indian government has been very responsible yet firm in its response,” Lindgren said on the sidelines of a CII-organised programme.
Asked about the steps taken by Pakistan during the last few days, he said “Some steps have been taken by the government of Pakistan. These are positive developments”.
He said Sweden expected all countries to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. “All countries are very anxious. We all have to find ways on combating terrorism,” he said.
Speaking at an interactive session “Doing Business with Sweden in the current economic scenario”, Lindgren exuded confidence that there would be a turnaround in the global economy in 2011-12.
On Indo-Swedish trade, he said in 2006-07 the bilateral trade between the two countries was worth $ 2.3 billion compared to $ 1.49 billion in 2005-06.
He did not specify a target for 2008-09, but said there was huge potential for trade growth.
The Swedish envoy said there were huge opportunities for Indian companies to invest in Sweden in energy, heavy engineering, pharmaceuticals and information technology.
“Of Sweden’s total trade, only one percent is with India. In contrast, two percent of our trade is with China, and ten percent with Norway. So, there is a huge potential,” Lindgren said.
“There is great scope for improvement in Indian exports to Sweden, though in recent years Indian exports to Sweden have increased at a higher rate than Swedish exports to India,” he added.