Denmark PM Mette Frederiksen is on a three-day visit to India, becoming the first head of government to visit New Delhi in over 20 months

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen reached Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi, India, where she was welcomed by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi.

She was received by Minister of state (MoS) for external affairs Meenakshi Lekhi at the airport.

Frederiksen is on a three-day visit to India, becoming the first head of government to visit New Delhi in over 20 months. The last time any foreign leader visited India was Myanmar's President Win Myint from February 26 to 29, 2020 and the then US President Donald Trump. The reason behind the lack of visit of foreign leaders has been the coronavirus pandemic.

"We consider India as a close partner. I see this visit as a milestone for Denmark-India bilateral relations," the Danish PM said on Saturday morning.

She also visited Rajghat to pay respects in form of floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

Her visit comes after India's Minister of external affairs S Jaishankar visited Denmark at the beginning of this year.

The Danish PM is now in India to discuss details about 'Green Strategic Partnership'. The two countries had held a virtual summit on the topic in September 2020 as the two sides want to work together on green growth by focusing on an ambitious implementation of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

"In a few weeks now COP26 Glasgow coming up and I am hopeful that we can use this meeting to agree on how we can support the rest of the world," she said.

The Danish PM will also hold bilateral talks with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in addition to interacting with think tanks, students and members of civil society. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at 11:30 am (IST) at the Hyderabad House which will be followed by a exchange of Agreements and Press Statement.

"Last year I and PM Modi signed and agree on a green strategic partnership. We see an ambitious Indian government to take great responsibility when it comes to green transition in India and rest of the world," she said.

She sat down for a detailed discussion with the Indian PM at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. "India and Denmark continued its cooperation even during the pandemic. In our virtual summit an year ago, we had taken the historic decision of green strategic partnership," PM Modi said. "During the COVID-19 pandemic, India and Denmark have continued their cooperation. During our virtual summit, we had decided to establish a Green Strategic Partnership between our two countries. Today, we reviewed and reiterated our commitment on this."

Furthering ideas of Indian OM, the Danish leader said, "We are two democratic nations that believe in an international system based on rules. Cooperation between India and Denmark is a great example of how green growth and green transition can go hand in hand."