An important and widely-followed recent event marked a new chapter of sorts in the ties between India-Finland.
So what was it and where did the event take place? Questions there are many but first some context!
The ties between the land of Taj Mahal, spirituality, a distinct culinary culture and colorful festivities on the one hand and that of intrepid love for Sauna and Motorsports on the other are woven around a culture of close co-operation and mutual respect.
Many may not actually know or would have noted that the two countries had first established bilateral formal ties way back in 1949. Did you know this?
In the history of the world, it’s the year that is associated with a lot many things, for instance the official formation of the NATO and for being the year of birth of distinguished stars in Bruce Springsteen and Meryl Streep. But then it’s what happened in the aftermath of the establishment of ties between India-Finland that also matters and goes to show the extent to which the two countries, distinct that they may be, are involved!
Two and a half decades after the establishment of the India-Finland ties, another big step that brought the two nations to interact closely with one another was the setting up of the Indo-Finland Joint Commision. The year was 1974, soon after which co-operation in the areas of biotechnology, radiation safety, and renewable energy would begin to give the ties between the land of Narain Karthikeyan and Kimi Raikkonen a new shape!
Having given that background, it’s also important to note that in its present capacity, Finland is working closely with India toward the sphere of developing 6G communications. And recently, several other areas came to light where both India and Finland are keenly involved in shaping dialogue and fostering a culture of growth, creativity and diversity!
Here’s what popular news journal Business Standard had to say:
India and Finland have agreed to explore cooperation in new areas like startups, health and pharmaceuticals, space and vocational education, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday. The two sides also carried out a comprehensive review of their bilateral ties at the 11th India-Finland foreign office consultations that took place in Helsinki on Tuesday, the MEA said. It said both sides exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest including Afghanistan, Indo-Pacific, India-EU partnership, cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic regions and COP-26.
The progress made in bilateral cooperation since the virtual summit between held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Finnish Sanna Marin in March was also reviewed in the meeting. The MEA said the foreign office consultations provided an opportunity to discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including further strengthening of partnership in areas such as trade and investment, education, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, circular economy and renewable energy.
Now, having said that, there’s more to India-Finland ties than the above with several interesting areas soliciting keen interest from the end of the two nations. It is believed that sooner than later, India-Finland will also be exploring some key opportunities toward the realm of Health, Pharma, Space, Education, to quote a few divergent spheres.
Watch this space to know more keen updates on an area that is only slated to grow further.