The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) announced that Denmark and India have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to establish a center of excellence on green shipping.
As announced, the Prime Minister of Denmark hosted the Prime Minister of the Republic of India, during an official visit to Denmark on 3-4 May 2022. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the Letter of Intent on the establishment of a Centre of Excellence on Green Shipping, which will further strengthen the bilateral maritime cooperation.
The two Prime Ministers welcomed the decision for a joint call for research and development projects in the area of green Hydrogen and green fuels. They noted the targeted areas of the joint call particularly with regard to green Hydrogen and other green fuels for transport and industry where there are no cost-effective alternatives to fossil energy.
The Green Strategic Partnership, established during the Virtual Summit between the two Prime Ministers in September, 2020, has become a catalyst for enhanced cooperation between India and Denmark. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the concrete progress under the Green Strategic Partnership and reconfirmed their commitment to democratic values, rule of law and respect for human rights on which the Green Strategic Partnership is based.
Furthermore, the importance of climate action, green growth and energy diversification was underlined. The independence of energy supply based on fossil fuel is vital in this regard as well as security policy. Thus, the two leaders agreed to further strengthen their cooperation within the renewable energy sector.
As informed, the two countries look forward to the midterm evaluation of the Green Strategic Partnership under the Joint Commission and agreed to work towards an enhanced strategic perspective for a Comprehensive Green Strategic Partnership once the existing Joint Action Plan ends in 2026.
India welcomed the Danish investments in the country, especially in the renewable energy, water, terminals and port modernization and expansion, food processing and engineering sectors and India’s investments in Denmark especially in the Information Technology sector. The two Prime Ministers noted that such investments have made India the country where Danish companies have the largest number of employees outside of Denmark. Both the leaders agreed that the opportunities created by the Green Strategic Partnership will likely lead to an upward trajectory in bilateral trade and investment.
In addition, the two Prime Ministers welcomed the international agreement at COP26 on the need for accelerated climate action for holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 degree above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degree above pre-industrial level. The two sides confirmed the aspirations – through the Green Strategic Partnership – to take global leadership in pushing for ambitious green energy transition and demonstrate the pathways to achieving it, focusing both on energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The Danish Prime Minister stressed Denmark’s commitment to speed up the phase out of fossil fuels and the deployment of renewable energy in Denmark to reach the goal of reducing emissions by 70% by 2030. Denmark was also determined to push for an acceleration of the implementation of the European Green Deal.
