UPGIS-2023: Denmark to Set Up River Lab in Varanasi; Singapore Pledges Investment of Rs 29,000 cr

Denmark, which is ranked first on the Environmental Performance Index (EPI), has announced plans to build a smart river laboratory in Varanasi to track the Ganga and its tributary's cleaning processes. In the presence of Swatantra Dev Singh, the Jal Shakti minister for Uttar Pradesh, Dan Jorgensen, Denmark's minister for international cooperation, development, and climate policy, made the announcement.

An MoU worth Rs. 1000 crore has been signed between the two nations for river cleaning. Denmark is anticipated to contribute resources and expertise to build a cutting-edge laboratory for clean rivers. As a major investment, Singapore also made a big announcement. According to Simon Wong, the country's high commissioner to India, "As first partner country, we have signed 20 MoUs with investments of above 29000 crore, above 4 billion dollars."

"We are here to express our support for UP, CM Yogi, and their goal of creating an economy worth $1 trillion. The Jal Shakti ministry, which has already launched Namami Gange, an initiative aimed at cleaning Ganga and its tributaries, would set up the clean river laboratory project of Denmark." Jorgensen declared that 'U.P. is fueling India's growth' and stated his desire to collaborate with "visionary chief minister Yogi Adityanath." Additionally, Jorgensen tweeted a picture of himself and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India is a significant climate and green transition partner. He tweeted, "Looking forward to further enhancing our green strategic partnership. The revitalization of the Ganga's tributaries, especially the Varuna River in Varanasi, will be a huge help to the people, Jorgensen emphasized, and the partnership between the two countries provides direction on scale, skills, speed, scope, and sustainability." He reaffirmed his commitment to putting an end to diabetes. Swatantra Dev Singh also discussed the Jal Jeevan Mission, a project of the BJP government whose success has received praise from the prime minister of Denmark, which aims to provide water to every household.

Singh emphasized the long-standing relationship between the two nations while stating that "under PM Modi, India is continuously working with Denmark to save the environment through the green partnership." Simon Wong, the high commissioner of Singapore to India, praised Adityanath during the session for the other partner nation. For the eighth year in a row, we have been India's top investor.

Since many of our investors are concentrated in the south due to the fact that our ancestors originated in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, we had not previously focused primarily on the north, but that is now changing. Before I met the chief minister, Yogi, my friend and I asked people in Gorakhpur and Lucknow if they liked Yogi while wearing T-shirts. They claimed to believe him because his new administration had helped them with a lot of issues, according to Wong.

"We learned that U.P. would be hosting GIS in July, and a week before the announcement, I urged the minister of urban development, AK Sharma, to set up a meeting for me with Yogi. I urged the CM to make us a partner country during our meeting. I was asked by Yogi if I was aware of the partner country initiative, and I replied that I was, and now here we are."

AK Sharma, the minister for urban development, recalled his numerous trips to Singapore, both on his own and while serving as a bureaucrat in Gujarat under the previous chief minister, Narendra Modi. To cheers, Sharma said, "Several masons from U.P. helped build Singapore, and now it's Singapore's turn to help U.P."