PM Modi to hold talks with UAE, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian and Italian leadership in major tour from May 15–20

India's Prime Minister embarked on a five-nation tour from May 15–20, 2026, covering the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy. The tour is framed ...

What Happened

India's Prime Minister embarked on a five-nation tour from May 15–20, 2026, covering the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy.
The tour is framed as a "mission for energy security" in the backdrop of the West Asia conflict and disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz affecting India's fuel supply chains.
In the UAE (May 15), talks are centred on energy cooperation, investment, and welfare of the approximately 4.5 million-strong Indian diaspora.
In the Netherlands (May 15–17), focus areas include semiconductors, water management, green hydrogen, and defence, with bilateral trade between the two countries standing at nearly USD 28 billion in 2024–25.
In Sweden (May 17–18), the PM participated in the European Round Table for Industry in Gothenburg alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement central to discussions.
In Norway (May 18–19), the PM attended the 3rd India-Nordic Summit, bringing together leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Norway, with focus on clean energy, Arctic cooperation, and blue economy.
In Italy (May 19–20), talks with Italian counterparts reviewed the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025–2029, covering defence, innovation, clean energy, and trade.

Static Topic Bridges

India-Nordic Summits

The India-Nordic Summit is a multilateral diplomatic format that brings India's Prime Minister together with the leaders of five Nordic nations — Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden — for comprehensive strategic dialogue. The first summit was held in Stockholm in April 2018, identifying four cooperation pillars: economic growth, innovation, climate change, and global security. A second summit was held in 2022. The 3rd summit in May 2026, hosted by Norway, focuses on clean energy transition, blue economy, Arctic governance, and emerging technologies. The India-Nordic summits are notable as India is one of the very few non-Western countries with which the Nordic bloc holds a dedicated summit-level format.

Bilateral trade and services between India and the five Nordic countries total approximately USD 13 billion.
Of the five Nordics, four rank among India's top-20 European trading partners (Sweden 9th, Finland 10th, Denmark 12th, Norway 14th).
India-EFTA (European Free Trade Association) FTA — which includes Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland — was signed in 2024 and came into force in 2025.
Nordic countries are world leaders in wind energy, clean shipping, green hydrogen, and Arctic research — all priority sectors for India.

Connection to this news: The 3rd India-Nordic Summit in Norway represents the institutionalisation of India's engagement with the Nordic bloc, with the 2026 energy crisis adding urgency to clean energy diversification and long-term supply chain resilience.

India-UAE Strategic Partnership

India and the UAE have one of the most comprehensive bilateral relationships in the Gulf region, covering energy, trade, investment, defence, and diaspora. The two countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in February 2022 — one of the fastest FTA negotiations in India's history — which came into force in May 2022. The UAE is India's third-largest trade partner and second-largest export destination. India's diaspora in the UAE, approximately 4.5 million strong, is the largest single national group in the country and a key source of remittances.

India-UAE bilateral trade was approximately USD 83 billion in 2023–24.
The India-UAE CEPA (2022) eliminated duties on over 97% of UAE tariff lines for Indian exports.
UAE is a critical oil supplier to India; the ongoing West Asia conflict has elevated energy security on the bilateral agenda.
The UAE joined the expanded BRICS in 2024, adding a new dimension to India-UAE multilateral engagement.

Connection to this news: The UAE leg of the tour is driven by the immediate imperative of energy security amid Hormuz disruptions, alongside long-term investment and diaspora engagement.

India's Strategic Autonomy and Multi-Alignment

India's foreign policy operates on the doctrine of strategic autonomy — the ability to act independently across all global power blocs rather than formally aligning with any single bloc. This is the post-Cold War evolution of Nehruvian non-alignment. Multi-alignment allows India to simultaneously deepen partnerships with the US (Quad, defence technology), Russia (energy, defence legacy), Europe (trade, technology), Gulf states (energy, diaspora), and emerging economies (BRICS, G20), without being constrained by any single alliance framework. The five-nation tour exemplifies this: energy diplomacy with the Gulf, technology and clean energy partnerships with Europe, all while maintaining BRICS and Quad engagements.

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), co-founded by India (Nehru), Egypt (Nasser), and Yugoslavia (Tito) in 1961, was the Cold War predecessor to strategic autonomy.
Panchsheel (1954) — five principles of peaceful coexistence — remains a foundational pillar of Indian foreign policy.
India's contemporary approach is described as "bridge, not bloc" — positioning India as a stabilising actor in a multipolar world.
India has deepened partnerships with the EU (FTA concluded), the US (Interim Trade Agreement, 2026), UAE (CEPA, 2022), and Australia (ECTA, 2022) while maintaining ties with Russia.

Connection to this news: PM Modi's five-nation tour — spanning the Gulf and Europe simultaneously — is a textbook demonstration of India's multi-alignment, combining energy security imperatives with long-term technology and trade partnerships across diverse global partners.

Key Facts & Data

Tour dates: May 15–20, 2026; countries: UAE, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Italy.
India-Netherlands bilateral trade: approximately USD 28 billion (2024–25).
India-Nordic total trade (goods and services): approximately USD 13 billion.
India-UAE bilateral trade: approximately USD 83 billion (2023–24); India-UAE CEPA came into force May 2022.
Indian diaspora in UAE: approximately 4.5 million — the largest single nationality in the country.
India-EFTA FTA (covering Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein) was signed in March 2024 and came into force in 2025.
The 3rd India-Nordic Summit (Norway, May 2026) follows summits in 2018 (Stockholm) and 2022.
India-EU FTA was recently concluded; discussions at the European Round Table for Industry (Gothenburg) focused on implementation.
The tour is India's response to the energy supply chain disruption caused by the 2026 West Asia conflict and Strait of Hormuz closure.