NEW DELHI: The Swedish Royal couple —King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia — on Monday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they commenced their five-day state visit.“PM @narendramodi welcomed Their Majesties King Carl XVI Gustaf & HM Queen Silvia of Sweden at Hyderabad House in New Delhi for the delegation level talks,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
The royals were earlier accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan.After talks between the King and President Ram Nath Kovind, the two sides inked three pacts (MoUs) on cooperation in polar science, innovation and research and in maritime spheres.
Modi and King chaired a meeting of the India-Sweden High-Level Policy Dialogue on Innovation Policy during which both sides discussed ways to expand engagement in research & development.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also called on the King and Queen and held discussions on ways to deepen bilateral ties. Officials said several documents on furthering bilateral engagement are likely to be signed.
Apart from the capital, the King and Queen are scheduled to visit Uttarakhand and Mumbai. In Delhi, they visited the Jama Masjid, the Red Fort and the Gandhi Smriti. This is King Gustaf’s third visit to India, the previous two being in 1993 and 2005.
Royals fly Air India after snag in state aircraft
The Swedish royal couple arrived in India on board an Air India commercial flight from Stockholm. “Very Proud moment for Air India when we had a Special Guest onboard. His Majesty Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, King of Sweden and Her Majesty Silvia Renate Sommerlath travelled AI168 Stockholm to Delhi. Sangeeta Sanyal Country Manager Sweden greeted the Royal guests,” the carrier tweeted. The Swedish state aircraft had reportedly developed some snag due to which the royal couple had to take the national carrier. The pictures that Air India had tagged with the tweet of the King carrying his own baggage at the airport had netizens in awe.