Negotiations on bilateral trade and investment agreements between the European Union (EU) and India are supposed to begin soon. What would be the effect and scope of such agreements on India-Finland bilateral relations?

This is an important matter. The European Union and India have decided to start negotiations on a bilateral agreement on trade and investments. This is, indeed, very important for our trade and investment relations; the objective being to promote the relations, and reduce existing barriers to trade and investment. Today, the EU is already India’s largest trading partner, and this new agreement would further help in enhancing trade between the two. We haven’t yet started the actual negotiations. The decision on this matter was made, in principle, in the EU-India summit in Helsinki, Finland, in October last year. We have a decision at the political level to start with the negotiations hopefully this year. Our intention is to negotiate effectively and have the agreement in place in good time. There are existing barriers to trade like tariff and non-tariff barriers that need to be discussed and negotiated. So, it will be a comprehensive agreement and the objective is to liberalise the trade regime bilaterally and promote business. Obviously, this agreement will have a positive impact, and all the member states of the EU, including Finland, will benefit. Of course, it will depend very much on the competitiveness of the businesses. Finnish business has to be competitive, and we believe that they are very competitive in India. We have a lot of potential still in our bilateral trade. We have growth in all aspects of our economic relations: trade is increasing, investments are increasing, and more and more Finnish companies are coming to India and establishing offices, some have production here. Also, we are very glad that Indian companies are going to Finland and investing there. This is very positive, and we welcome all the Indian companies to Finland. The most obvious sector is the information and communications technology sector, where Finland is very competitive and has advanced technology. In this area, Indian companies have found good opportunities to cooperate with Finnish companies, especially in mobile communications technology. As you know, Finland is very competitive in that area; we have one of the leading companies in the world Nokia, which is also the market leader in India, so it is quite natural that this area is also of great interest to Indian businesses.

What is Finland’s stand on India’s claim to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council?

Our position is very clear because Finland supports India’s claim to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

What was the agenda of President Halonen’s four-day visit to India?

President Halonen had a very successful visit to India. There were three dimensions to the visit: the first one was to meet the political leadership of India to discuss and review bilateral issues, multilateral issues, and international affairs. In practical terms, this meant meeting the President, the Prime Minister, the leader of the Congress Party, the leader of the opposition, and so on. The second dimension was to promote trade and economic relations between Finland and India. In practical terms this meant that the delegation accompanying President Halonen included the Finnish Minister of Trade and Industry Mauri Pekkarinen who held his own talks with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath. Also, the President was accompanied by a high-level business delegation. So, the second dimension was all about promoting business relations, and in that context there was also the Finland-India CEO Round Table held in Delhi organised jointly by ASSOCHAM, CII, and FICCI. The third dimension of the visit was that the President participitated in the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, organized by TERI, which was a good summit on sustainable development covering topics such as climate change, sustainable technology, etc. Finland is a country where we put a lot of emphasis on environment protection and sustainability of nature, and we have some excellent companies in this area. In international ranking or indices, where countries are ranked according to their policies of environment protection and sustainable development, Finland is usually ranked number one or two. So, the participation of our President at the summit was a clear indication of the importance that we place on this issue, and we want to cooperate with India and other countries in this area. The President of Iceland and the former Prime Minister of Norway also participated in the summit, which reflects the importance that Nordic countries place on environment protection and sustainable development. So, the visit of President Halonen was a combination of all these three dimensions, and it was a very fruitful visit.

India and Finland have always had cordial relations, but there has been a sudden spurt in bilateral activities and high-level visits, with Dr Singh visiting Finalnd in 2006, and Mr Vanhanen and Ms Halonen’s visit in 2006 and 2007 respectively. What do both the countries stand to gain out of the increase in bilateral activities?

We are very happy and glad that during the last year or so we have had so many high-level bilateral visits. Our Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen was here last March on an official bilateral visit. He also went to Chennai to open the Nokia mobile factory. Then, last year in October, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Finland in the context of the EU-India Summit as Finland held the Presidency of the EU at that time, but we were also happy to organise an official bilateral visit for the Indian Prime Minister, which was a good visit. And now we had our President. So, as an ambassador, I could not have more! These high-level visits are very important to promote our relations, and that applies to all areas of cooperation: political dialogue, economic and trade issues, investments, tourism, etc. Incidentally, during the visit of President Halonen, Finnair announced that they will quadruple their flights to India by increasing their frequencies and opening new connections. This will, of course, stimulate lot of cooperation by way of new contacts, businesses, and tourism.

Were any important agreements signed during President Halonen’s visit?

There were no formal agreements signed during this visit, but we have several agreements in the pipeline that were discussed such as agreement on science and technology, updating of double taxation avoidance agreement, air services, and several others.

What were the major issues discussed during the meeting between President Halonen and President Kalam?

It was a very cordial and friendly meeting, and several topics were discussed such as the importance of education in society and the importance of science and technology in society. As you know, President Kalam has a scientific background, so these were very natural. Also, connectivity and bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas, and how new technology can assist and facilitate this bridging were discussed. Obviously, environment protection and sustainable development were also discussed.

What were the major issues discussed during the meeting between President Tarja Halonen and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?

The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the excellent bilateral relations between our countries and the active exchange of visits and topics relating to our cooperation. The President was also happy to inform the Prime Minister of the expansion of services and activities to India by Finnair. They also reviewed the outcome and follow-up of the EU-India Summit. This is a very significant issue for Finland and India. They also reviewed topical, international issues and some regional issues. Also the prospects of cooperation in the field of environment were discussed. Finland is cooperating with India’s TERI in exploring the problem of ‘brown cloud’ in South Asia. We have a station on the slopes close to the Himalayas where this phenomenon is studied and explored on a scientific basis. We hope to continue this cooperation and even expand it, and use the results internationally. So, there is a lot of scope for cooperation, and it was a comprehensive discussion based on a flexible agenda.

Any other issue that you may wish to comment on …

As an ambassador, I am really pleased that our relations are developing so well. One area where I would like to make more progress is in mobility of experts between our countries with cooperation between our scientists, researchers, universities, and so on. India has vast human resources, so many high-level scientists and excellent institutions that we would like to cooperate and have more exchanges. The most interesting area to Indians seems to be mobile communications technology, which means in practical terms the Helsinki University of Technology. Another area where Finland has a high reputation internationally is sustainable forestry and those relating to green environment protection. And, there are some universities, such as Joensuu University, that seem to interest Indian students. There are also some other interesting areas, but we need to put in extra effort to promote these exchanges of students and experts. This year we have an expert from Finland who is here to promote this kind of cooperation, and he is placed in the commercial section of the embassy. I hope that he will make a positive contribution and be able to start some kind of programme. We also need new scholarships, and some new instruments to help facilitate exchanges.