Closer trade ties with India

The Faroese government wants closer trade ties with India.

For the second time in only a couple of months, the Indian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark, Pooja Kapur, is visiting the Faroes.

Plans are in place to send a delegation of Faroese government officials and business leaders, headed by the Prime Minister, on an official trade visit to India in November.

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Foreign minister Høgni Hoydal says he sees great potential in strengthening trade ties with the fifth largest economy in the world.

"India is a vast and diverse country. It is a major economic power, and its market is of great interest to us, especially our food exporters. We believe there is great potential for cooperation between our two countries," he says.

The planned trade visit to India would be the second of its kind. In 2006, Jóannes Eidesgaard, the then Prime Minister, travelled to India with a delegation of 26 Faroese industry representatives.

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There has been some stagnation in trade between the two countries since then. However, new opportunities are now on the horizon.

“Mrs. Kapur has shown great interest in strengthening trade ties with the Faroes. A free trade agreement between the two countries may be difficult because we are not a sovereign state, but some trade agreements are definitely possible,” says Hoydal.

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The government is also looking beyond India for possible trade ties.

“We are planning a trip to China later this year, and trips to Japan, South Korea and Brazil are also on our agenda,” he says.

The planned visits are a sign of the government’s growing ambition in the global marketplace.

Faroese autonomy in foreign relations is provided for by a treaty between the Faroes and Denmark, the Foreign Policy Act from 2005.

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

English version by prosa.fo.

More Faroese News in English.