New Delhi: Sweden's Ambassador to India, Jan Thesleff, said that India and Sweden want to work together to do things that are "smarter and more sustainable." He noted that the bond between India and Sweden dates back to independence.

In his address at the celebration of 75 years of diplomatic relations between Sweden and India, Thesleff recalled the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit in Dubai.

Jan Thesleff said, "Exactly one week ago, on Friday, our two Prime Ministers, Honourable Prime Minister Modi and the Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson, met in Dubai and they met to launch the leadership groups for industry transition at COP28."

"And the new great initiative by India on green credits. So this is the freshest example of our sambandh (bond), actually. Together, India and Sweden want to do things smarter and more sustainable. We co-create and our motto has been for this year, Swedish innovation made in India."

Highlighting the ties between the two nations, he said that five Indian Presidents have visited Sweden and four Swedish Prime Ministers have travelled to India.

Thesleff noted,"There's been a sambandh between Sweden and India that goes back to independence. We've had five visits by Indian Presidents, Prime ministers to Sweden. We have four Swedish Prime Ministers coming to this beautiful, lovely, fantastic country. Our Kings and Queens have come three times to India. And only this year, 20 per cent of the Swedish government made their way to India in one year."

He recalled that Rabindranath Tagore 110 years ago wrote the lyrics for the national anthem and won the Nobel Peace Prize in literature. Jan Thesleff noted that since then, nine prominent laureates of Indian descent have won that same prize.

Congratulating India on the Chandrayaan-3 landing, he said, "I want to congratulate India on the amazing Chandrayaan-3 moon landing. I think that achievement shows that through innovation and innovation is at the core of what we do, we can pioneer the possible."

Jan Thesleff hosted a gala reception at his residence on Friday to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Sweden. The ties between India and Sweden were established in 1948 and have steadily strengthened over the decades, according to the Indian Embassy in Sweden.

On December 1, Sweden Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said that the Green Credits initiative is a promising additional tool to enhance climate action at a time when there is urgency and opportunities for climate transition in our societies.

In his address at the high-level event on the Green Credits Programme at the COP28 World Climate Action Summit, the Swedish Prime Minister also thanked India for the invitation to this event on enhancing climate action.

"We would like to thank our hosts and dear colleagues in India for the invitation to this event on enhancing climate action. Indeed, there are a large number of organisations, corporate entities and individuals who want to contribute to securing our future environment," he said.

"In light of the urgency and opportunities of climate transition in our societies, we see the Green Credits initiative as a promising additional tool to enhance climate action," Kristersson added.

As he further went on to address the event, Kristersson underlined that the Green Credit initiative could lower the threshold and how concrete actions can be taken.

During the high-level event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson, President of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi and European Council President Charles Michel, launched the web portal of the Green Credits Programme at the COP28 World Climate Action Summit in Dubai.