Book Extract: Raisina Chronicles: India’s Global Public Square

Raisina Chronicles celebrates a decade of the Raisina Dialogue.

Erna Solberg

Prime Minister of Norway

A World Reorder: New Geometrics, Fluid Partnerships, Uncertain Outcomes

THE TIES BETWEEN INDIA AND NORWAY GO BACK hundreds of years. The first possible evidence we have of links between Norway and India dates back to the year 834, from a Viking ship discovered by accident by a farmer in 1903 in a burial mound in Norway. The bodies of two women were found in the ship. Buried with them, archaeologists found items that were meant to accompany them to the afterlife. These included fine silks and a small Buddha-like figure decorated with four golden swastikas. These items may have originated from the Indian subcontinent, although we will never know for sure.

In any case, they came to Norway by sea. The oceans were as essential to our Viking ancestors as they are to us today. They are a vital part of both our history and our future. As the world population continues to grow, more and more people will depend on the oceans for development and prosperity.

By the middle of this century, the world population is expected to increase to ten billion people. This means that we must look to the oceans in order to ensure sufficient food, jobs, energy and economic growth. But this will only be possible if ocean resources are used and extracted sustainably. We all have a stake in building a sustainable blue economy.

BUILDING A BLUE ECONOMY

As leaders of maritime nations, both India and Norway know that we have a special responsibility to protect the oceans as a source of food, health and livelihoods. Ambitious new initiatives have been launched to develop India’s blue economy. Prime Minister Modi has presented a vision of sustainability and growth for all people in the region.

One of the goals of my government’s ocean strategy is to promote sustainable value creation and employment in the ocean-based industries. Our ambition is to facilitate the transfer of expertise and technology across industrial sectors. For instance, Norwegian technology developed for the offshore oil and gas sector is now being used in aquaculture and renewable energy installations, like offshore wind. If we are to build a sustainable ocean economy, we must stop the degradation of the world’s marine ecosystems. We must improve the health of the oceans.

That is why Norway has established the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. As the only ocean policy body consisting of currently-serving world leaders, our ambition is to trigger, amplify and accelerate action to promote ocean protection and productivity. We will encourage action across the board, in policy, governance and financing. We need to move towards integrated ocean management instead of managing the ocean sector by sector. This must be based on scientific knowledge and take into account the full range of opportunities and risks.

Our goal is to advance a new contract that will both protect the oceans and optimize their value for all people. Norway looks forward to continuing its cooperation with India on this issue. Global ocean management means that we must work together to share both the benefits and the burdens. The bilateral Ocean Dialogue mechanism we have established will provide an excellent tool for this purpose.

Successful cooperation depends on a robust and predictable legal and institutional framework in the ocean space. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides the legal framework for ocean diplomacy. India and Norway share democratic values and an emphasis on international norms and laws. The rules-based international order has served Norway well. A concrete example is the settlement of the maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia in 2010. Our disputed maritime claims were in areas with an abundance of natural resources. Achieving an agreement was not easy, but it was in our mutual interest. The agreement is important for our future blue economy. We commend India for respecting the rulings of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the question of disputed maritime areas.

One thing is for sure: When large countries respect international law, smaller countries take note. The principle ‘might is right’ cannot be used as a basis for governing our oceans, or anything else for that matter. One area where large and small countries work together under common institutions is the Arctic.

THE COMMON THREAT

Norway is an Arctic nation. Much of our territory lies north of the Arctic Circle. Sea areas account for a large part of this territory. For us, the Arctic is not a remote, icy wilderness. For many Norwegians, it is where we live, raise our families, and run our businesses. As a result of climate change, we are seeing rapid and dramatic changes to the Arctic environment. The consequences of climate change are severe, not only for the local communities in the Arctic but also for the planet as a whole.

Rising sea levels and altered climatic conditions will have a global impact. The changes are happening fast, so fast that researchers are struggling to understand and predict the effects they will eventually have on ecosystems. No country can on its own acquire the knowledge that is needed. International research cooperation is the only way forward. There is growing evidence that temperature swings in the Arctic are affecting the melting of snow in the Himalayas and the Indian monsoons.

The worrying developments in the Arctic show the interconnected nature of our global challenges. I am therefore pleased that India and Norway have enjoyed close research cooperation on the Arctic and climate change for many years. We are among only a few countries in the world to have research activities at both the North Pole and the South Pole. This cooperation is of great value to us.

The Arctic Council is the most important forum for discussing issues of common interest relating to the Arctic. India is now an observer state, along with several other Asian countries. The Arctic has become an arena for cooperation between Europe, North America and Asia. This is presenting us with new opportunities. We hope to see an even stronger Indian engagement in the work of the Arctic Council in the time ahead.

We started with the narrative about the treasures that were discovered in a Viking burial tomb. They came to Norway by sea, and they were buried with a ship believed to be needed in the afterlife. This story reflects our shared dependence on the oceans. But it also highlights the importance of international trade, long before globalization. Global trade has led to increased prosperity for many. Extreme poverty has been halved, people live longer, child mortality rates are falling, and more girls attend school than ever before. Global political cooperation, global trade, and international law have been crucial to this progress. But we also have to recognize that globalization has not been equally beneficial for all.

Many people feel left out by globalization. This is a very real challenge. Exclusion can spur radicalization. It can undermine confidence in international institutions and cooperation. Eventually, it could weaken respect for international law, human rights, and even our security architecture.

To counter this exclusion, we must secure the future welfare of a rapidly growing population. Our job as leaders is to deliver security, jobs, education and healthcare. We must deliver results. We must ensure that our citizens feel the positive effects of growth and globalization. We must deal with the challenges of globalization while at the same time maximizing the benefits for our citizens. This requires both protection and reform of fundamental trade norms. We cannot afford to let protectionism, discrimination and economic rivalry define our future. Norway and India both benefit from rules-based international trade. We stand only to lose if this is undermined.

The WTO is essential for Norway and our interaction with the world. I believe rules-based trade is just as important for our partners. Free trade creates winners. Protectionism does not. In order to benefit all, rights, rules and responsibilities must be modernized to fit our current global economy. This is vital if we are to build a world where people’s potential, creativity and hopes for the future can be realized through cooperation, knowledge exchange, and trade.

A GLOBAL RESPONSE

The consequences of instability affect us all. Global security threats require global responses. Areas of conflict and instability are breeding grounds for violent extremism and international terrorism. Violent extremism, conflict and instability lead to humanitarian crises and violations of human rights. These, in turn, are some of the main drivers of both regular and irregular migration. Terrorism and violent extremism affect us all and are not limited to any single ideology, religion or belief. In the continued fight against violent extremism, we must apply a whole-of-society approach. We must address the root causes. Security is closely linked to sustainable development.

We must boost trade and job creation. We have to be able to build capacity for generating domestic revenue and strengthen our public service delivery. Simultaneously, we must keep coming up with innovative and modern ways to combat corruption. Corruption fuels inequality, crime, instability and violence. In the same breath, we still have a long way to go to achieve and ensure women’s rights and participation. This is crucial for development and lasting peace and stability.

The international community has agreed on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—the roadmap to the future we want. We all have a stake in this. The issues concern all of us. If we succeed in reaching the SDGs, we will have done much to address many of the challenges we face today, including poverty, inequality, extremism, health issues and climate change. Since 2016, I have co-chaired the UN Secretary-General’s group of SDG advocates. The 17 goals make it very clear that, in this context, we are all developing countries.

Norway has frequently been ranked as number one in the Human Development Index, but we still have a lot of work to do to achieve the SDGs. India, of course, has played an important role in shaping the SDGs. The fact that India, with its massive scale and vast resources, is devoting itself to achieving the SDGs will have a global impact. I greatly appreciate Prime Minister Modi’s leadership in this arena.

We have no time to lose. Sustainable change cannot be achieved overnight. It requires hard work and we must work together. The effects of climate change, conflicts, gender violence, forced migration and pandemics do not respect borders. Working together has enabled us to do far more than we could have done alone. India and Norway share the goal of solving global challenges in cooperation rather than isolation. Norway and India share many values and a deep commitment to democracy and a rules-based world order.

We live in times of great change. From Norway’s perspective, global trends have been the cause of both our prosperity and many of our challenges. Trade conflicts, geopolitical tensions, violent extremism, climate change and instability at the global level directly affect us at home. But so do the benefits of world trade, the global fight against infectious diseases, and the rule of law. And while we are seeing great changes, there are also constants. The oceans are still there with their potential to provide wealth and development. To paraphrase the great Mahatma Gandhi, there is enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed. And the monsoon winds still blow across the Indian Ocean, as they did in Viking times.

This speech was delivered as the inaugural address at the 4th Raisina Dialogue, 2019 (8 January 2019).

Excerpted with permission from Raisina Chronicles: India’s Global Public Square by S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India and Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), published by Rupa Publications India.

*********

Raisina Chronicles celebrates a decade of the Raisina Dialogue. It brings together voices from across the world—of leaders and thinkers reflecting on the Raisina Dialogue’s impact on how we may navigate global challenges and create solutions that work. Putting India at the forefront of leading the change, the effect of these Dialogues is felt across policies and projections that the global family is working towards.

S. Jaishankar and Samir Saran, the editors, who are also the curators of the Dialogue, emphasize that diversity, dissent, discord, and divergence of opinion make for the necessary ingredients for a sustainable future, shaped and owned by all. Ten years since its inception, the Raisina Dialogue has become the paramount platform for bringing together cultures, peoples and opinions. It is now India’s flagship geopolitical and geoeconomic conference, and has truly become a global public square—located in New Delhi, incubated by the world.

In tandem with the curated discussions, Raisina Chronicles reflects on the Dialogue’s journey and brings to its readers a single volume containing thorough insights and unbridled optimism for finding common solutions to global challenges. As the world stands on the cusp of structural and historical change, the hope that is central to this work is for the voices of the people to be at the forefront of global politics and policymaking, resonating through power corridors, and finding their way to the masses. For leaders to implement change, society must come together to take that one step forward in the right direction.

India-European Free Trade Association signed a Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) on 10 March 2024. The Norway Parliament approved of the agreement on 20 March 2025 and it was signed off by Norway's King the following day, which means it was ratified by Norway. With this new agreement there will be zero tariff on almost all Norwegian export to India. Whereas before this pact was signed, some Norwegian goods exported to India attracted tariff barriers of up to forty percent. The trade pact involves Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland & India; aims to boost trade, attract $100 billion in investments. The negotiations for this began as far back as 2008. Hence, the speech by the former prime minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, delivered at the 4th Raisina Dialogue, 2019 on 8 January 2019, seemed relevant to publish today. It offers a historical perspective on the bilateral relations between India and Norway.

S. Jaishankar has been India’s External Affairs Minister since May 2019 and is currently a member of the Rajya Sabha representing Gujarat. He was India’s Foreign Secretary from 2015 to 2018. In a career spanning four decades in the Indian Foreign Service, he served as Ambassador to the United States, China and Czech Republic, and as High Commissioner to Singapore. He is also the author of several bestselling publications including The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World (2020) and Why Bharat Matters (2024).

Samir Saran is President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), India’s premier policy think tank. He founded the organization's affiliates in America and the Middle East, and continues to provide board-level leadership. Samir is Curator of the Raisina Dialogue; Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Geopolitics; and member of the Board of Governors of The East West Centre, US. Samir has authored five books, edited and curated many important monographs and journals, and written several academic papers and essays. He is featured regularly in Indian and international print and broadcast media.

S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India and Samir Saran, President of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Raisina Chronicles: India’s Global Public Square Rupa Publications India Pvt. Ltd., 2025. Hb. Pp. 232.