New Delhi: India's exports to Nordic regions have increased significantly in recent years, said Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, while addressing the second CII India Nordic-Baltic Business Conclave 2023 here on Wednesday.

The Union Minister pointed out that India's exports to the Nordic region have grown by over 39 per cent from 2018-19 to 2022-23 and that exports to Finland and Norway have grown by over 100 per cent and 80 per cent respectively. Highlighting the fact that the region has come close to India in recent years, the Minister pointed out that Indian cuisine, Bollywood, yoga, Ayurveda and textiles are extremely popular in the Nordic-Baltic region, as informed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a press release.

In his address, Goyal said that Nordic-Baltic nations have the best innovation, green tech, AI and blockchain-led transformation, supply chain logistics and fintech, and these are the areas where there is a huge scope for collaboration with India, as India has made great strides in these areas besides being an economic powerhouse with vast mineral resources and a talent pool.

Speaking in the presence of leaders of the Nordic countries, Goyal said that it's an exciting era of collaboration, innovation and shared prosperity with a similar outlook towards global challenges and opportunities, the release added.

Goyal also invited Nordic-Baltic companies to showcase, attend, and collaborate at the upcoming trade fairs in India. He informed the gathering that BharatTex, which will start from February 26 to 29, will have over 3,500 exhibitors from nearly 40 countries. Bharat Mobility Show will run from February 1 to 3 and will showcase the Auto Fair. It will also have an electrical component as a key feature, it also said.

Benedikt Hoskuldsson, Special Envoy for Climate, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Iceland, Mariin Ratnik, Deputy Minister for Economic and Development Affairs Republic of Estonia, Jurgis Miezainis, Parliamentary Secretary at the Latvian Ministry of Economics, Republic of Latvia, Egidijus Meilunas, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Lithuania, Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, Deputy Foreign Minister, Kingdom of Norway, Ville Tavio, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Republic of Finland, Niklas Wykman, Minister for Financial Markets, Kingdom of Sweden and Aksel Vilhelmson Johannesen, Prime Minister, Faroe Islands also expressed their views on the relations of Nordic countries with India on the occasion, said the press release.