New Delhi: India and Denmark have agreed to deepen cooperation in MSME development, innovation and intellectual property (IP) during the fourth meeting of their Joint Working Group (JWG) held in Copenhagen from August 24 to 28, 2026.
The meeting brought together officials from India’s Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO) to exchange experiences and identify new areas for institutional cooperation.
Focus on Innovation and MSME Growth
Discussions covered technology adoption, intellectual property, technology commercialisation, entrepreneurship and cluster-based MSME development.
The two sides also discussed ways to strengthen their respective MSME and innovation ecosystems through greater knowledge exchange and institutional linkages.
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Indian and Danish Delegations
The Indian delegation was led by Dr Rajneesh, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME. Officials from the Ministry and National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ni-msme) also participated.
The Embassy of India in Copenhagen was represented by Ambassador Manish Prabhat and Counsellor Ashish Arya.
The Danish delegation included officials from DKPTO and the Royal Danish Embassy, led by Maria Skou, Deputy Director General, DKPTO.
Learning From Denmark’s Innovation Ecosystem
As part of the programme, the Indian delegation visited Aarhus University Innovation “Kitchen” and Agro Food Park.
The visits provided an opportunity to understand Denmark’s approaches to mentoring, startup support, industry-academia partnerships and cluster-based assistance for entrepreneurs and MSMEs.
The delegation also met representatives of the Danish Ministry of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs to exchange views on business development, innovation and the SME ecosystem.
India’s Startup Ecosystem Also Highlighted
Dr Rajneesh-led delegation also participated in the Nordic–India Startup Summit 2026 by TechBBQ. The event enabled interaction with stakeholders from the Nordic startup and innovation ecosystem and provided an opportunity to discuss India’s MSME sector.
Future Areas of Cooperation
The concluding JWG discussions reviewed outcomes from earlier engagements and examined priorities for future cooperation under the existing framework.
Ambassador Manish Prabhat welcomed the continued functioning of the JWG mechanism and reaffirmed support for deeper India–Denmark engagement.
The meeting ultimately highlighted the shared objective of promoting innovation and IP-led growth among MSMEs, while expanding knowledge exchange, institutional partnerships and opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation.
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