Overview
- India’s Ministry of External Affairs, in a Wednesday briefing, confirmed Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy from May 15 to 20 to advance energy, trade, technology and defence ties.
- The UAE stop on Friday centers on energy cooperation in talks with President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and on the welfare of 4.5 million Indians in the country after weeks of Gulf tension that disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
- Government sources say the UAE leg could yield MoUs on LPG supplies and on India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves, which are emergency crude stocks stored in underground caverns, though these agreements have not been officially announced.
- In the Netherlands and Sweden from May 15 to 18, Modi will meet Dutch leaders on semiconductors, green hydrogen and water management, then hold talks in Gothenburg with Sweden’s Ulf Kristersson and address a top European industry forum alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
- The Norway leg on May 18–19 features the third India‑Nordic Summit in Oslo and the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Norway in 43 years, followed by an Italy stop on May 19–20 to review defence, clean energy and investment ties with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella.