Dr. Jitendra Singh Reviews Indo-Norway Blue Economy Collaboration

The Minister highlighted the ‘India-Norway Integrated Ocean Management and Research Initiative’ and stressed the importance of deepening collaboration in this area.

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh held a meeting with Norwegian Ambassador to India, Ms. May-Elin Stener, in the North Block today to review the Indo-Norway collaboration on the Blue Economy.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, who holds several key positions including Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Earth Sciences, emphasized the need to strengthen the Joint Task Force (JTF) on the Blue Economy. The task force is co-chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.

The Minister highlighted the 'India-Norway Integrated Ocean Management and Research Initiative' and stressed the importance of deepening collaboration in this area. He mentioned India's deep-sea mission, which involves sending three Indians to the deep sea for opportunities in mineral exploration and seabed mining.

Dr. Singh credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership for accelerating India's marine and ocean exploration initiatives. He underscored the role of the Blue Economy in fostering India's growth and pointed to the deployment of IndARC, India's first sub-surface moored observatory in the Arctic, as a significant scientific accomplishment.

Ambassador Stener praised the collaboration, noting, "Norway has technology and India has scalability." She expressed appreciation for Dr. Singh's leadership and proposed enhancing ties in science and technology, as well as continuing marine and polar studies. She recalled their Prime Minister's comments on India and Norway being neighbors in Antarctica in terms of scientific research and facilities.

Dr. Singh highlighted the Indo-Norwegian Fellowship Program, which supports students working on Arctic and Antarctic Glaciology, and mentioned the MoU between the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) and the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) for collaboration in polar sciences, signed at the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Kochi.

He also noted the draft framework jointly developed by India and Norway for Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and expressed anticipation for the upcoming UN Conference on Oceans (UNOC-3) in Nice, France in 2025.