Norway India digital agreement talks moved forward in Oslo as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Norway and met Norwegian Prime Minister (statsminister) Jonas Gahr Støre. The two governments agreed to deepen cooperation on digital public infrastructure, open-source digital tools and development projects that can also support countries in the Global South.
Norway India digital agreement focuses on public infrastructure
The agreement is framed as a partnership for digital development work, not as a narrow technology deal. According to Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Utenriksdepartementet), the two countries will cooperate on developing and sharing open digital solutions that other countries can also use.
Norway’s Minister of International Development (utviklingsminister) Åsmund Aukrust said the agreement will focus on open, scalable solutions based on open-source software. The stated aim is to make digital systems reusable across countries, helping reduce costs and accelerate development.
The cooperation covers what are often described as digital public goods and digital public infrastructure. These include systems that can support public services such as digital identity, payments, health records or administrative platforms. For governments with limited resources, the ability to reuse tested digital tools can be important for expanding access to services without building every system from the beginning.
Mosip shows why digital identity is part of the partnership
One example mentioned by the Norwegian government is Mosip, the Modular Open Source Identity Platform. The platform has helped more than 130 million people globally gain access to digital identification, according to Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Digital ID systems are a sensitive but increasingly central part of development policy. They can help people access welfare schemes, banking services, education and health care. At the same time, they require strong safeguards on privacy, cybersecurity and inclusion, especially in countries where many citizens may lack formal documents or stable internet access.
For Norway, the partnership fits into a broader development-policy profile built around institutional capacity, digital public goods and cooperation with international partners. For India, it reflects New Delhi’s ambition to present its digital infrastructure model as a tool that can be adapted beyond its borders, particularly in the Global South.
Modi’s Oslo visit expands cooperation beyond digital development
The digital agreement was announced during Modi’s visit to Oslo, where he held a press conference with Støre. Both leaders presented the meeting as a strengthening of bilateral relations between Norway and India.
Støre and Modi said the two countries would deepen cooperation in trade, research, innovation, technology and education. Modi also linked the partnership to climate and sustainability, saying that the green strategic cooperation between India and Norway would be beneficial beyond the two countries.
The official joint statement points to a wider agenda. Norway and India agreed to strengthen work on renewable energy, oceans, polar research, climate and environment, health, critical minerals, emerging technologies, information technology and artificial intelligence. They also agreed to support development efforts in third countries in the field of digital public infrastructure to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Digital cooperation connects Norway’s aid policy with India’s scale
The agreement matters because it brings together two different strengths. Norway has long used development policy to support public institutions, international standards and technical cooperation. India brings scale, digital expertise and experience from large public platforms used by hundreds of millions of people.
This does not make digitalisation a simple solution. Open-source infrastructure can lower costs and speed up implementation, but public digital systems also depend on trust, legal protections and administrative capacity. For developing countries, the quality of governance around these systems may be as important as the technology itself.
The Norway–India partnership therefore points to a wider shift in development cooperation. Digital infrastructure is increasingly treated not only as a technical sector, but as part of how states deliver services, protect rights and participate in global economic networks.
A Nordic link to the Global South and Europe’s digital agenda
For the Nordic region, the agreement adds a development-policy dimension to a broader diplomatic moment. Modi’s visit to Norway followed his stop in Sweden and came as India and the Nordic countries sought closer cooperation on green transition, research, energy, maritime industries and technology.
The partnership also connects with debates in Europe about digital sovereignty, public digital infrastructure and the use of open-source tools in public administration. Nordic countries have often presented trust, transparency and strong public institutions as central to digital government. India’s model, by contrast, is defined by scale and rapid deployment.
The next test will be whether Norway and India can turn the agreement into concrete projects that are both efficient and rights-conscious. If successful, the partnership could become a small but significant example of how Nordic development policy and Indian digital capacity can work together in countries where access to reliable public services remains limited.
