This article covers the diplomatic relationship between India and Norway: the establishment of relations, visits and meetings at the level of heads of state and government, ministerial and parliamentary exchanges, dialogue mechanisms and the areas covered by bilateral agreements. It is based on the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) bilateral brief of March 2026 and reflects the position at that date.

Establishment and basis of relations

According to the MEA brief of March 2026, India and Norway established bilateral relations in February 1947, and Norway was one of the first countries to recognise India. The brief describes the relationship as cordial and friendly since then, based on shared values of democracy, diversity, empowerment of women, human rights and rule of law.

The brief states that the ties are marked by regular exchanges of visits and interactions at the highest level and at parliamentary, ministerial and official levels. It also records that Norway has been supporting India's pursuit of permanent membership of a reformed UN Security Council.

Visits by heads of state and government

From India, Prime Minister Shri Jawaharlal Nehru visited Norway in 1957 and Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi in June 1983. President Shri Pranab Mukherjee paid a State visit to Norway in October 2014. Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Norway from 18 to 19 May 2026.

From Norway, King Harald V visited India as Crown Prince in February 1986, and Crown Prince Haakon visited India officially in 2006. Prime Minister Erna Solberg paid a State visit to India in January 2019. The brief records her as the last Norwegian Prime Minister to visit India.

Meetings of the Prime Ministers

The brief states that the India-Nordic Summit format allowed more regular and structured interactions at Prime Ministerial level: in Stockholm in 2018, on the sidelines of the first India-Nordic Summit, and in Copenhagen in May 2022, for the Second India Nordic Summit.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store spoke by telephone in September 2022. They met on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Rio on 18 November 2024. Prime Minister Støre hosted Prime Minister Modi in Norway from 18 to 19 May 2026, when Norway also hosted the 3rd India-Nordic Summit, and the two leaders elevated relations to a Green Strategic Partnership.

Foreign Ministers

The last visit by an External Affairs Minister of India to Norway was in 2013, by Mr. Salman Khurshid. Norwegian Foreign Minister Mr. Espen Barth Eide visited India for the Raisina Dialogue in March 2025. The Foreign Ministers have also met on the sidelines of multilateral events and other conferences.

Earlier, Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ms. Anniken Huitfeldt, visited India with a business delegation in April 2022. H.E. Mr. Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik, State Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visited India in November 2023 and February 2024, and again from 05-07 March 2026 as Deputy Foreign Minister (State Secretary) for the Raisina Dialogue 2026.

On the Indian side, Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh visited Oslo in August 2024 for the first Nordic-India Dialogue, which the brief's list of visits calls the India-Nordic Track 1.5 Dialogue. Former Minister of State Meenakshi Lekhi visited Norway in August 2022 to attend Arendalsuka, an annual political gathering in Norway.

Other ministerial visits

The brief lists these recent ministerial visits between the two countries:

  • Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, visited Oslo from 16-18 February 2026.
  • Ms. Karianne Oldernes Tung, Norway's Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, attended the AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi from 19-20 February 2026.
  • H.E. Ms. Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development of Norway, visited India in November 2023.

Parliamentary and state-level exchanges

Norwegian parliamentary delegations to India listed in the brief include:

  • a delegation from the Standing Committee on Energy and Environment of the Storting (Parliament of Norway), headed by the Committee Chair, Ms. Marianne Sivertsen Naess, in January 2023
  • a Norwegian Parliamentary delegation to the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP), led by Ms. Aslaug Sem-Jacobsen, Member of Parliament, in February-March 2024
  • a Parliamentary delegation of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence of the Norwegian Parliament in September 2024

From India, a delegation led by Shri Gian Chand Gupta, Speaker of the Haryana Legislative Assembly, visited Norway in September 2023, and a delegation led by Shri Pasang Dorjee Sona, Speaker of the Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly, in October 2023. A delegation led by Shri Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala, visited in October 2022.

Dialogue mechanisms

The brief states that several institutional dialogue mechanisms exist between India and Norway, covering various sectors of cooperation. The Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) between the Foreign Ministers is the high level mechanism of coordination, covering the entire gamut of relations. Its last meeting, the 6th, was held virtually in October 2020.

Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) are held at the level of Secretary. Recent rounds recorded in the brief are:

  • November 2022: Shri Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), and Shri Arun Kumar Sahu, Joint Secretary (CE), MEA, visited Norway for the FOC.
  • May 2024: Mr. Torgeir Larsen, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, visited India to co-chair the FOC.
  • February 2026: the 12th FOC was held in Oslo, co-chaired by Secretary (West), Shri Sibi George, and the Secretary General from the Norwegian side.

There are also several Joint Working Groups and two Task Forces on various areas. The latest addition is a Maritime Security Dialogue, held at official level in Oslo in September 2025.

Areas covered by agreements

According to the brief, India and Norway have signed MoUs and Agreements covering, among other subjects:

  • trade and economic relations, and avoidance of double taxation of income
  • prevention and mitigation of geo-hazards
  • culture, education including higher education, academic research and collaboration, and exchange of faculty and students between universities
  • training of diplomats
  • science and technology, scientific and technical cooperation, and earth system sciences
  • fisheries, and ocean dialogue and blue economy
  • local governance
  • cooperation in banking supervision
  • health research
  • defence research and development
  • geo-technical engineering and material sciences
  • roads and highways