The free trade agreements between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Union (EU) with India are complementary and will help avoid over-dependence on some countries, Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide said.Norwegian foreign minister Espen Barth Eide (X)Norway and India, as seafaring nations, have been hit by the wars in Ukraine and West Asia and have a shared interest in supporting a rules-based order that works, Eide told HT in an interview.Tell us about the new green strategic partnership forged by India and Norway and your discussions with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar?We have excellent political and economic relations between Norway and India. We recognise the ever-growing importance of India – it’s very close to becoming the third-largest economy, but also a very innovative economy in IT, AI and many other industries. The green strategic partnership is about how we shape the future through the type of economic growth that is sustainable, more renewable, and geared towards better use of the world’s resources. For future growth, it’s important that we connect these to your goals – creating more wealth to lift more people out of poverty and expand the middle class, while doing so in a manner that is compatible with life on the planet for hundreds of years.Foreign minister Jaishankar and I discussed the Strait of Hormuz, the war in Iran and the situation in Ukraine. These are issues that affect all of us because both these wars have tremendous effects on the global economy and on our economies because we are seafaring nations. We are eager to trade, we sell our products to other countries, we import from other countries and we need a system of rules-based international trade that works.Norway has reservations about the extension of the waiver of US sanctions on Russian oil purchases, and it has been extended again. What are your views on Russia continuing to supply energy to countries like India? Does Norway believe India can play a role in ending the war in Ukraine?We would very much like to see India underlining the importance of international law, and particularly the most important rule, which underpins civilised relations between states — that we respect each other’s sovereignty. Invading and attempting to occupy the territory of another sovereign recognised country is a violation of the most basic rule. I think India, given its strong commitment to the UN, should convey that message to Russia.We are ready to have a good relationship with Russia after this war, but it has to be in line with international law and we’re all better off when we respect these rules. That’s something where I think India could play a role and I would welcome such a role in conveying that message, because as a BRICS country, it has closer relations with Russia. I see no reason to criticise that, but I think that should also be used responsibly.When it comes to the US decisions on sanctions, we would prefer that the sanctions remain in place. We see that they work. Russia is not doing well on the battlefield after exerting pressure on Ukraine for many years, which now has a slight upper hand because it has a slight edge in drone technology. Russia is not winning but, frankly, we don’t really see a full military victory for either side. At some point, we need a political agreement and that has to leave Ukraine as a sovereign, independent nation free to make its own decisions, and then Russia can go on with its business in Russia. Nobody is attempting to change the leadership in Russia — that’s a job for the Russians themselves if they want to — but what we want to do is uphold international law and sanctions are a part of it.Have you been affected by grey zone tactics blamed on Russia in recent months?We see some of these hybrid threats emerging in our neighbourhood, less so in Norway than in the Baltic states and some of the central European states. We stand in solidarity with them and I think it’s important that all of us learn and understand that today, wars are not only about kinetic attacks, but also about undermining stability, increasing polarisation and using threats of a shorter war that are still problematic to undermine the cohesion of other countries. That’s something we talk a lot about in this part of the world and we’re happy to share these experiences. I think India has some similar experiences, which is a good basis for conversation.How do Norway and India intend to work in third countries under their new digital cooperation agreement?Digital cooperation is massively important. If you’re in the digital space, there’s no way not to work with India, because it is so dominant in programming and the development of technologies. There’s not an IT company of any relevance in the world that does not have an office in Bengaluru, including ours. To strengthen that — not only digital as a business, but also how governments use digital technology, how we create better societies and more effective governance through digitalisation and digital services — there is a need to work with India.Norway was among the first in Europe to get a free trade agreement with India as part of the EFTA and the EU is set to sign an FTA with India by the end of the year. Do you see these two agreements as complementary to each other?Yes. First, we are very happy that we were able to beat our good friends in the EU by signing the agreement with India first — that was a small diplomatic triumph for us. But to be more serious, we are actually happy that the EU is also signing its agreement and that is because Norway, although our trade relations are organised through EFTA and not the EU, is still very closely connected to the European economy. What is good for the EU economy is good for us and vice versa. We are deeply involved in European value chains, and we have a shared outlook with Europe to maintain interdependence while avoiding over-dependence on some other countries. It’s also very good that we can strengthen our partnership with India, a fast-growing economy with the largest population in the world, and you simply have to engage with this. I think the free trade agreement that we have is a good one, and we welcome the EU agreement.