Stefan Lofven received PM Modi at the airport with a handshake (Photo tweeted by Narendra Modi)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on Monday evening to a warm welcome on the first leg of his three-nation tour of Europe that will also see him going to Britain and Germany.
Breaking protocol, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven received PM Modi at the airport with a warm handshake.
This is the first prime ministerial visit from India to Sweden in 30 years after the visit of Rajiv Gandhi in 1988.
On Tuesday, PM Modi will hold a bilateral summit with Mr Lofven following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed.
This apart, PM Modi and Mr Lofven will attend a round table of Swedish CEOs.
India and Sweden will on Tuesday also co-host 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 will also be present.
The Prime Minister landed and Sweden and thanked his Swedish counterpart on Twitter for welcoming him at the airport.
PM Modi will hold separate bilateral meetings with the leaders of the other four Nordic countries on the sidelines of the summit.
From Sweden, PM Modi will leave for Britain where he will hold a bilateral summit with British Prime Minister Theresa May on April 18.
On April 19-20, he will attend this year's Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London.
While returning from Britain on April 20, he will stop over in Germany where he will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.