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Impressed by Aakash, Swedish minister to meet Datawind CEO

By IANS,

New Delhi : The world’s cheapest tablet computer Aakash seems to have created a global buzz with Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt planning to meet Sunnet Singh Tulli, the man behind the headline-grabbing innovation, here later this week.

It’s unusual for visiting foreign ministers to set up a standalone meeting with entrepreneurs and innovators, but Bildt has found time amidst his myriad diplomatic engagements to fit in a meeting with Tulli, the CEO of Datawind that developed the Android-based Aakash.

The meeting also fits in with the week-long Sweden-India Nobel Memorial Week organised by the embassy that honours Nobel laureates and celebrates innovations in diverse fields. The theme for the fifth edition of the memorial week is “innovation and creativity for development”.

Bildt began his three-day visit to India Tuesday from Mumbai, where his focus was on promoting trade and investment between the two countries.

He will hold wide-ranging talks with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and also meet National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.

The talks are expected to focus on intensifying trade and investment and enhanced cooperation in renweable energy, in which Sweden is seen as a pioneer.

The ministers are expected to discuss the festering financial crisis in the eurozone that is negatively impacting developing countries as well. They will also discuss a swathe of global issues, including the reform of international financial institutions and the UN reforms and climate change.

Bildt is expected to call on BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, a former foreign minister.