Norway stands with people of Palestine, Ukraine: Ambassador May-Eline Stener tells THE WEEK
The ambassador talked about the Free Trade Agreement between India and Norway
The ambassador talked about the Free Trade Agreement between India and Norway
The ambassador talked about the Free Trade Agreement between India and Norway
The ambassador talked about the Free Trade Agreement between India and Norway
In an engaging interactive session with THE WEEK and Malayala Manorama on May 23, Thursday, the Norwegian ambassador of India and Sri Lanka May-Eline Stener answered pressing questions on a variety of issues ranging from geo-politics and economics to sustainable development and sports.
Ambassador Stener delivered a fascinating address about Norwegian literature and mythology, emphasising the the close cultural ties between Kerala and Norway. The Ambassador expressed her happiness to be in Kerala and how she felt the southern Indian state and her motherland had a special connection before moving on to more serious topics.
She talked about the Free Trade Agreement between India and Norway and the reasons for Norway looking at India for its development plans surrounding renewable energy, maritime and fisheries resources. She also spoke about her visit to the Cochin Shipyard and about bringing forward a sustainable development model before moving on to the interactive session.
The ambassador answered questions about development efforts and India's collaborations with Norway. Using Kerala's long coastline as a valuable resource for business and the historical reasons for choosing Cochin Shipyard as a strategic partner were discussed in the process. Conversations were also held about how Kerala could learn from Norway's expertise in water sports and also about bringing Indian cricket women and trainers to train their own.
While talking about geo-political issues, the first to come up was the war going on between Norway's neighbour Russia and Ukraine. “For us, it is no question about anything else than being on the side of Ukraine,” the ambassador said.
When it came to the Israel-Palestine issue, Norwegian acceptance of Palestine's statehood was discussed and the ambassador made it clear that Norway stood with the innocent people of Palestine. She also answered questions on the Oslo Accords, the two-state solution and the need for female representation in bodies like the United Nations (UN).
Norway’s perspective on wealth and the race of nations to become developed, the astonishingly low wage gaps in Norwar and potential economic investments in India were also discussed.