Kholm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived here on Monday evening as a part of his three-nation tour of Europe that includes Britain and Germany.

The Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven received PM Modi at the airport while breaking his protocol to give a warm welcome to him.

A total of 30 years has passed since the visit by Rajiv Gandhi in 1988 and Modi’s visit is first such visit after him.

A bilateral summit will be held with Mr Lofven by Modi on Tuesday following which some agreements are expected to be signed.

Apart from this, PM Modi and Mr Lofven will also attend a roundtable of Swedish CEOs.

Both the countries will also co-host on Tuesday the first-ever India-Nordic Summit, where apart from Modi and Lofven, the Prime Ministers of the other four Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Norway are also expected to be present.

The Prime Minister landed in Sweden and conveyed thanks to his Swedish counterpart on Twitter for the welcome reception at the airport.

Prime Minister Modi will hold other separate bilateral meetings with the leaders of the other four Nordic countries on the sidelines of the summit.

Prime Minister Modi will leave Sweden for Britain where he is slated to hold a bilateral summit with British Prime Minister Theresa May on April 18.

And after that, he is slated to attend this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London to be held on April 19-20.

On his return journey from Britain on April 20, he will stop in Germany to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Sweden visit seems to be a crucial one with several agreements to be signed. The Prime Minister’s meetings with several leaders may also prove beneficial for India.

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