The Hindu : National : “Time to strengthen Indo-Finnish trade ties”

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Friday, Oct 26, 2007
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“Time to strengthen Indo-Finnish trade ties”

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: It is time to strengthen Indo-Finnish business partnership as it offers a favourable economic and political alignment, a dynamic momentum in bilateral trade and investment, better air connectivity and positive investor relations , Finland Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Vayrynen said on Thursday.

Delivering the keynote address at an interactive session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, he said: “Finland has know-how and expertise especially in the utilisation of non-conventional renewable energy sources and environmental technology. The mechanical engineering sector is also a field in which untapped potential for developing and deepening business relations exists, among other things.”

Indian markets offered interesting business potential for Finnish products and services in various sectors.

The rapid growth of the information technology sector in both economies has opened new possibilities for strengthening commercial ties. India’s strong economic growth increased the demand for energy production, distribution and consumption, he pointed out.

The Minister said that Finnish investments in India had increased in recent years. To date, more than 70 Finnish companies had made investments in India, and 100 more had chosen to be present in Indian markets by exporting through local agents.

Finnair, Finland’s national carrier, would operate to Bangalore or Chennai, or both.

In his address, Finnish Ambassador to India Asko Numminen said that at present, the Indian investment in Finland crossed €100 million.

CII (Southern Region) past chairman C.V. Karthik Narayanan said Finland offered tremendous potential for co-operation in environmental technology, energy, health, infrastructure, research and development and forest industry. The bilateral trade stood at €490 million.

The Finnish delegation to Chennai included representatives of 20 companies. Lindstrom, a leading textile services companies in Europe, has committed to investing €3 million in the next two years.

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