Nordic-Baltic cooperation
The Nordic-Baltic cooperation, also known as the NB8.
It is a regional cooperation format that brings together eight countries in Northern Europe:
Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden
Baltic countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
The cooperation was established in 1992.
Initially as a "5+3" format with the five Nordic countries and the three Baltic states.
After the Baltic states joined the European Union and NATO in 2004, the format was renamed to NB8 to reflect the more equal partnership between the two regions.
The main goals of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation are to:
Promote regional integration and cooperation in areas such as economy, trade, environment, energy, security, and culture.
Strengthen the Nordic-Baltic region's voice in the European Union and on the global stage.
Support the development of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in the region.
NB8's vision for strengthening global partnerships
Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, cooperation with global partners has become more important than ever before.
In this year’s Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, we, the eight Nordic-Baltic countries, are participating in it together as representatives of the Nordic-Baltic cooperation, the NB8.
In times of turmoil and conflict, the world needs more trust, dialogue and cooperation.
Let us join forces to protect and defend peace and stability, to oppose aggression, to maintain a rules-based world order, and to strengthen a world economy based on free trade, sustainability and long-term partnerships.
NB8 represent the governments of eight countries of the north: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden.
These countries linked geographically, and we share deep historical, social, economic and cultural ties.
Our advanced economies are outward-looking, innovation-driven, complementary and fully integrated into the world’s largest single market area, the European Common Market.
Taken together, the size of the Nordic-Baltic economies would qualify not only for the G-20 but also the G-10.
Our countries share a commitment to democracy and human rights.
We are all champions of an international order based on multilateralism and international law.
It is in this spirit that we pursue a very productive and deeply valued cooperation with India which is a key country with a long-standing democratic tradition and with which we share many core values.
We also have long-term and ever-closer ties with India and the Indo-Pacific region in common.
Significance of partnership with India
The Nordic-Baltic cooperation with India spans fields as diverse as innovation, green transition, maritime, health, intellectual property rights, new technologies, space cooperation and artificial intelligence, student exchanges, culture and tourism.
Trade and investment figures between our region and India are steadily increasing.
Jointly, India and the Nordic-Baltic countries are coming together in pursuit of common goals.
In a time of geopolitical shifts, the security of the Nordic-Baltic region and the Indo-Pacific is interlinked.
Today, it is more essential than ever to work together to uphold international law, and to build capacity to tackle both traditional and non-traditional security threats, be it in India’s neighbourhood or in our own.
We recognise India’s increasingly important role in international politics.
India has taken on important global responsibilities. Indian leadership, as illustrated not least through the successfully concluded G-20 presidency, is increasingly important for global security and prosperity.
Our objective for coming to India is clear: in a more interconnected world, challenges are shared and require us to work together.
In recent years, we have all experienced global health, climate-related and geopolitical shocks that have caused significant strain to our peoples, the international system and indeed on our common planet.
We see an urgent need to get back to a more positive agenda for global cooperation.
This is an ambition that we share with India, and one where our enhanced cooperation can make a difference.
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