New Delhi, June 16 -- India's relations with Europe are often viewed through the lens of Brussels, Paris, Berlin, or London. But in recent years, India has also been deepening its ties with another important set of partners: the Nordic countries. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Oslo for the third India-Nordic Summit, bringing together India and the five Nordic countries-Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, and Denmark. The agenda for the six countries was wide-ranging, covering trade, investment, green technology, maritime cooperation, the Arctic, and the Indo-Pacific. The visit also marked the first official trip by an Indian PM to Norway in more than four decades. During the visit, Norway and India elevated their bilateral relationship with new agreements on climate, technology, science, and the blue economy. To discuss what this means for India, Norway, and the changing global order, May-Elin Stener, Norway's ambassador to India, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives, appeared on a recent episode of Grand Tamasha, a weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy coproduced by HT and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Prior to taking up her current post, Stener was deputy director general of the regional department in Norway's foreign ministry. She has served as Norway's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations in New York as well as deputy head of the Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. She has been a member of the Norwegian Foreign Service since 1995. Stener highlighted the symbolic importance of Modi's visit to Oslo. "It was only the third time that an Indian prime minister has visited Norway. The last time was in 1983, when Indira Gandhi visited Norway, so we really view this visit as historic and a really good thing that Prime Minister Modi came," she explained. "India has now become so important-not just because of its population, but also because its economy has grown so much in the last ten years." Stener said that Norway sees India as an increasingly important geopolitical and economic partner. As evidence of this growing relationship, she pointed to the 2024 signing of the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), an accord India signed with the four so-called "EFTA" countries-Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. "In the last ten years, trade between India and Norway has doubled. There is still little trade between the two countries, but we really think it will increase with this treaty and that it will double again in the next ten years-if not double several times," she said, singling out the energy and maritime sectors as two domains that hold significant potential. "Given that India is one-sixth of the world, if we do not find sustainable solutions for India, the world has lost. That is why it is really important to have this green strategic partnership with India." Modi's visit also produced a moment of controversy after Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng pressed a ministry of external affairs official on India's record on democracy and human rights, prompting a sharp rebuttal. Asked about the episode by host Milan Vaishnav, Stener said, "India is the world's largest democracy, and our PM said during the summit that Norway respects that India may have some different traditions, and that it is up to India to decide what it does." At the same time, she added, "As a fellow democracy, we really want to discuss issues of democracy and human rights with India. We do that in our bilateral engagement, and we also do it within the United Nations and other multilateral settings." Stener said that the Norwegian embassy regularly engages with human rights activists and journalists, while also maintaining candid conversations with Indian government counterparts. "I do not find that difficult at all-that has never been questioned by the Indian government," she said....