and environmental requirements and work towards the
development of seafaring competencies alongside modern
technology without compromising operational efficiency or
safety at sea. Denmark is also on the forefront of innovation
in the global maritime industry and its inputs play an integral
part of policy development. This development is making the
Indian market attractive for the Danish shipping industry.
India offers enormous opportunities for Danish businesses
and the Danish shipping community is ready to help drive
Indian growth in the years to come, by intensifying trade
and investment activities.
Since India is at a nascent stage in the maritime sector
and aspires to increase its role, a strong synergy between
India and Denmark would be considered a win-win
situation. From the policy stand point, India could benefit
by getting insights on the best practices that Denmark
follows. Practices that have allowed Denmark to maintain
its leadership in the sector. The Indian maritime sector is
on the cusp of revolution and its emphasis can be gauged
by the Government’s initiatives such as the Sagarmala
Programme (string of ports), modernization of India’s
ports, development of Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs),
enhancement of port connectivity via multi-modal logistics
parks, pipelines and waterways and promote coastal
community development, and an overall drive towards
promoting green and digital solutions. These developments
create opportunities for Danish businesses, who would like
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to match their capabilities with Indian market needs. Such
matchmaking would also add to the longstanding Indo-
Danish relationship by generating inclusive development
and economic growth.
The Danish government on the other hand has released
its vision statement towards 2025, which aims to make
Denmark a global maritime power hub. The government
wants the vision to have the following direction:
1. A power hub for digitization
2. A power hub with attractive framework conditions
3. A power hub of knowledge and know-how
4. A power hub with a global outlook and attractiveness
Just a quick glance at the above mentioned agenda helps
one envision how intricately the vision of the two countries
can be woven as India has launched several investment
friendly reforms and flagship programs such as Make
in India, Invest India, Digital India and Skill India in its
attempt to boost economic growth. The country has recently
taken a giant leap at the Ease of Doing Business Index which
testifies to the government’s commitment to work towards
making India an attractive investment destination with
a global outlook. Given this background, it is evident that
working to further bolster this natural alliance, which can
generate colossal rewards that have ripple effects for the
economies of both the nations.