Norwegian Ambassador May Elin-Stener Celebrates One Year in India
New Delhi, India – As Norwegian Ambassador to India, May Elin-Stener, completes her first year in office, she reflects on her journey with a mix of nostalgia and excitement. In an interview, she showcased her prowess at speaking Hindi and recited her favorite Bollywood dialogue, ‘Picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost,’ which means ‘the story is still unfinished, my friend.’
With a warm smile, Stener expressed her joy at being in India, saying, ‘Mai dil se bol rahi hoon, mai Bharat aa kar bahut khush hoon. Bharat mein hone ka yeh achha samay hai…’ (I am speaking from my heart, I am very happy to come to India. It’s a great time to be in India).
Historic EFTA Agreement
Highlighting her favorite memory of the past year, Stener mentioned the historic EFTA (European Free Trade Association) agreement signed between India and EFTA countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) in March this year. ‘We have achieved one big thing this year. On March 10, we signed the trade and economic partnership agreement between EFTA and India. And for us, that means so much after all these years of negotiations, lifting the bilateral relationships to a higher level,’ said Stener.
Significance of India-Norway Relations
Stener, who presented her credentials to President Droupadi Murmu in August last year, emphasized the significance of India-Norway relations. She said there is much to learn from India’s cultural diversity and traditional facets, and that India has much to contribute to the world. ‘India is the most focused country. It’s the fifth-largest economy. It is not possible for Norway to not look to India if we want green growth. So that’s important for us to have that relationship, right?’ added Stener.
Exploring India
The envoy shared her fond memories of exploring India, including visiting Varanasi for Dev Deepawali, participating in a beach clean-up in Mumbai, attending the literature festival in Jaipur, and marveling at the iconic Taj Mahal in Agra.
Gender Equality
As one of the few women ambassadors in India, Stener stressed the importance of gender equality in the workplace. ‘I believe there are 25 women ambassadors in Delhi. Now, about me being a Norwegian, this journey started when I was very young in the 80s. In Norway, there was a lot of talk about getting women into the workplace. And when I started working in the Foreign Service after a few years, it has also been important for our leaders, men and women, to get women into management positions. And last year, when I became ambassador, it was the first year that Norway had 50 percent women ambassadors abroad. I think that’s a big achievement. It has taken a long time, but I really hope it can be a good example for other countries,’ said Stener.
Future Plans
Speaking about the high-level visit and the upcoming India-Nordic summit expected to take place in Oslo, Stener said she ‘hopes to receive the Indian Prime Minister in Oslo very soon’ and that the ‘summit in the next few months.’
Economic and Commercial Ties
India’s economic and commercial ties with Norway are on the upswing. There has been a spurt in trade, investments, the transfer of technology, and other contacts. The current growth in Indo-Norwegian eco-commercial ties has been fueled by common interest in sectors such as deep offshore, shipping, hydroelectricity, information technology, biotechnology, and light consumer goods. Norwegian IT companies are also looking at offshoring their business to India or investing in Indian start-ups. The relationship between India and Norway is built on excellent political exchanges and bilateral institutional mechanisms, with cooperation in the Blue Economy for sustainable development being a cornerstone of their partnership.
Doubts Revealed
Norwegian Ambassador -: A Norwegian Ambassador is a person from Norway who represents their country in another country. In this case, May Elin-Stener is the Norwegian Ambassador to India.
May Elin-Stener -: May Elin-Stener is the name of the Norwegian Ambassador to India. She is the person who represents Norway in India.
EFTA agreement -: EFTA stands for European Free Trade Association. It is a group of countries in Europe that work together to make trade easier. The EFTA agreement mentioned is a historic trade deal signed in March.
India-Norway relations -: India-Norway relations refer to the friendship and cooperation between India and Norway. This includes working together on various projects and helping each other in different ways.
gender equality -: Gender equality means treating everyone the same, whether they are boys or girls, men or women. It is about giving everyone the same opportunities and rights.
India-Nordic summit -: The India-Nordic summit is a meeting where leaders from India and Nordic countries (like Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland) come together to discuss important issues and work together.
economic and commercial ties -: Economic and commercial ties refer to the business and trade relationships between two countries. In this case, it means how India and Norway work together in business and trade.
sectors -: Sectors are different parts of the economy, like agriculture, technology, or healthcare. When we say cooperation in various sectors, it means India and Norway are working together in different areas of the economy.
