India
-Ashish Rana
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Sweden’s Royal Order of Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross, during the current visit. The decoration is the highest grade of this honour that a head of government can receive. This becomes Modi’s 31st international award from foreign governments and organisations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Sweden’s Royal Order of Polar Star, Commander Grand Cross, his 31st international award. Talks with PM Ulf Kristersson covered trade, defense, technology, and strategic cooperation, noting bilateral trade reached USD 7.75 billion in 2025.
PM Modi is in Sweden for a two-day programme, arriving in Gothenburg on Sunday. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson welcomed Modi at Gothenburg Airport after the Indian aircraft entered Swedish airspace under escort from Swedish Air Force fighter jets. The leaders then moved to formal talks.
India-Sweden ties and Royal Order of Polar Star
The two prime ministers held delegation-level discussions that covered trade, defence, technology and wider strategic cooperation. They reviewed the full range of India-Sweden relations and discussed fresh areas for partnership. Both sides underlined the importance of resilient supply chains and closer security ties, including collaboration in space and defence industries.
Economic links remained a key focus during the talks. The leaders looked at ways to grow bilateral trade, which reached USD 7.75 billion in 2025. The agenda also included green transition, artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, startups, climate action and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
| India-Sweden indicator | Detail |
|---|---|
| Trade volume | USD 7.75 billion |
| Trade year referenced | 2025 |
| Global honours for Modi | 31 |
Before the meetings, PM Modi wrote on social media, “I will be meeting Prime Minister Kristersson to advance the India-Sweden friendship in trade, investments, innovation, defence and more.” Modi had previously travelled to Sweden in 2018 for the first-ever India-Nordic Summit in Stockholm.
The visit also featured a cultural outreach in Gothenburg with the Indian diaspora. Modi watched performances including ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ sung by Swedish opera singer Charlotta Huldt, and a Bharatanatyam piece by students of Lilla Akademien. Referring to one segment, Modi posted, “Bengali culture is popular world over and Sweden is no exception,” highlighting the shared cultural interest.
