Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on the Official Visit of President of Finland to India (March 05, 2026)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:Namaskar and good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this special press briefing on the ongoing State Visit of the President of Finland.

For this special press briefing, we have with us Secretary (West) Shri Sibi George, and he is assisted in this press briefing by our Ambassador to Finland, Shri Hemant Kotalwar, as also Additional Secretary (North Europe) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Smt. Pooja Kapur. With that, I invite Secretary (West) to make his opening remarks, after which we'll take questions from the floor. Sir, over to you.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary West:Thank you, Randhir. Good evening to everyone.

As you are aware, at the invitation of Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, the President of the Republic of Finland, His Excellency Dr. Alexander Stubb, is on a State Visit to India from 4 to 7 March this year. This is his first visit to India in his present capacity. The President is accompanied by a high-level ministerial and official delegation, as well as a sizeable business delegation. This reflects the importance that both sides attach to trade, business, and investment as key pillars of the bilateral relationship.

He joined our Hon'ble Prime Minister at the inaugural session of the 11th Raisina Dialogue 2026 in New Delhi as the Chief Guest and also delivered the keynote address a little while ago. President Stubb's visit comes close on the heels of the Finnish Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr. Petteri Orpo's visit to New Delhi for the AI Impact Summit in February this year. Prime Minister Orpo had also met our Prime Minister on the margins of the Summit.

The India-Nordic Summit has also provided an opportunity to the leaders of both countries to remain engaged. Our Prime Ministers met in 2018 and 2022 on the margins of the 1st and 2nd India-Nordic Summits in Stockholm and Copenhagen, respectively. President Stubb and Prime Minister Modi remained in close, constant touch last year. The two leaders met on the margins of the G20 Leaders' Summit in Johannesburg in October 2025. They also spoke telephonically at least on two occasions last year.

During their meetings today, Prime Minister Modi and President Stubb have elevated the India-Finland bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership in Digitalisation and Sustainability.

President Stubb arrived in New Delhi on 4th March and was accorded a ceremonial guard reception at the airport. Today, he met Rashtrapati ji at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Prime Minister Modi and President Stubb held wide-ranging discussions at Hyderabad House in restricted as well as delegation-level formats. They covered all aspects of the bilateral relationship as well as regional and global developments of mutual interest. Prime Minister Modi hosted a luncheon in honour of the President. Our Hon'ble Vice President and External Affairs Minister also called on President Stubb today.

On 6th March, he will travel to Mumbai, where he will meet the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, interact with business leaders, and participate in the India-Finland Business Event. He will also address the students at the University of Mumbai.

India and Finland enjoy a warm and friendly relationship. Over the decades, our relationship has evolved into a forward-looking, innovation, and technology-driven partnership. Finnish companies have a strong presence in India in areas such as telecommunications, digital solutions, clean energy, and smart manufacturing. Bilateral trade in goods and services is close to USD 3 billion. Trade and investment are expected to expand further with the coming into force of the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. In this respect, we have also agreed to double the trade by 2030.

As you know, digitalization is an important aspect of our bilateral relationship. Finland's advanced capabilities in digital innovation align well with India's digital transformation initiatives. In this regard, the two sides have established a cross-sectoral joint working group on digitalization to advance cooperation in new and emerging technologies such as 5G and 6G, quantum communications, high-performance and quantum computing, artificial intelligence, etc. A joint task force on 6G has also been created to further expand the collaboration in this emerging field.

At the same time, Finland's globally recognized expertise in clean technologies, renewable energy, and sustainable urban solutions makes it a natural partner for India. India and Finland will also be co-hosting the World Circular Economy Forum in India later this year. During the visit, both sides have reviewed and renewed the MoU on Environmental Cooperation to further the collaboration on sustainability and the circular economy, including bioenergy and waste-to-energy solutions, power storage, green hydrogen, as well as wind, solar, and small hydro power.

Science, technology, and innovation are key pillars of India-Finland cooperation. The two sides have agreed for joint research calls under an implementation arrangement between the Department of Science and Technology of India and Business Finland. It would advance research collaboration in areas such as renewable energy, smart cities, hydrogen technologies, waste management, electric vehicles, carbon capture, 5G, 6G, AI, microelectronics, and power electronics, etc.

The two sides have also signed an MoU on Migration and Mobility Partnership. It is expected to facilitate the mobility of talent, including professionals, students, entrepreneurs, researchers, and academics. It is also expected to provide enhanced access for Indian students, including internships and post-study employment opportunities.

Considering the importance of cooperation in consular matters, the two sides have agreed to commence negotiations on an Extradition Treaty and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, and establish a consular dialogue between the respective Foreign Ministries.

Both sides are also committed to promoting a free, open, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific in accordance with international law, including UNCLOS. In this regard, Finland has expressed interest in joining the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, which is welcomed by India.

We also agreed to have cooperation in Arctic-related areas. The Finnish side reiterated its support for India's fight against terrorism, including cross-border terrorism.

To conclude, this visit of President Stubb coming soon after the India-EU Summit, during which we announced the conclusion of the India-EU FTA, underscores a strong momentum in bilateral as well as India-EU relations. It reflects our strong commitment to both our partnership with the European Union as a whole, and deeper bilateral engagement with its member States. In this context, Finland is a valued partner with whom we aim to expand cooperation in key sectors of mutual interest.

The visit focused on three Ts: trade, technology, and talent. Trade anchors our economic partnership, technology advances collaboration in digitalization and sustainability, and talent connects our societies through mobility. These priorities align with our Prime Minister's vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, with Finland's strengths in innovation, sustainability, and education making it a natural partner for India.

This has been a very substantive and productive visit. The discussions have helped set clear directions for India-Finland cooperation in the near and medium term. I'll stop here. We would be very happy to take questions. Thank you.

Akhilesh Suman, Doordarshan News:Sir, I am Akhilesh Suman from Doordarshan News. Finland is also an Arctic country. So, did we talk anything about how we are going to cooperate on Arctic issues?

Sidhant, WION:Sir, Sidhant from WION. Sir, how much there was a conversation on the war in West Asia? We saw the Prime Minister making his remarks, if you can perhaps elaborate on that.

Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint:Thank you, sir. Keshav Padmanabhan from The Print. I just went through the joint statement, and of the 46 paragraphs, there's not one mention of the situation in West Asia. So I just want to echo the question on what were the international issues that were discussed and with specific reference to the conflict, as my colleague Sidhant earlier asked, what did the two leaders sort of discuss, and was there any outcome or an understanding between them on how the situation has to be resolved? Thank you.

Abhimanyu, CNBC TV18: Abhimanyu from CNBC TV18. Sir, my question is that were supply chains discussed? As far as strengthening of supply chains is concerned, as my two colleagues earlier also asked, about the current disruptions which are taking place in West Asia, any disruption of supply chains or any mitigation measures which have been discussed?

Ayanangsha Maitra:Sir, this is Ayanangsha Maitra. Sir, is it possible to elaborate the last 'T' from the three Ts, the talent? And if it's possible, India is a base of over 800 million cell phone bases, which the Finnish companies, one of the Finnish mobile manufacturers marveled the technology. So, is there any discussions on Indian players making cell phones, high-tech cell phones? Thank you.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary West:Thank you very much. On the question on Arctic, if you look at the Joint Statement, you will see that there is a full paragraph on the cooperation in the Arctic related... Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening cooperation and dialogue on Arctic matters, including through joint research initiatives, academic exchanges, and capacity-building programs. They took note of the first India-Finland Arctic Dialogue, which was held in Finland, 'The Himalayan and Arctic Ecosystems', that was the name of the dialogue which was held in Finland, which brought together Parliamentarians, Government Officials, academics, and experts to deliberate on strategies and pathways for deepening collaboration on Arctic matters. Both leaders also underscored the importance of advancing cooperation in the structures of the Arctic Council, within the broader framework of India-Nordic Summit, which would be held later this year.

So, cooperation and dialogue on Arctic matters was an important element of the discussions held, and it is covered in the joint statement.

Moving on to the question related to West Asia and the other conflict situation. Of course, both the leaders discussed issues of interest to both India and Finland and Europe. The current evolving situation in West Asia was discussed by the leaders. As far as we are concerned, our Spokesperson has already issued a couple of Statements on the current situation in West Asia. I would refer you to look at those Statements. We have also expressed our deep concern and called for restraint and de-escalation.

On the other conflict situation, yes, of course, related to the developments in Ukraine conflict was also discussed. Again, on that, you are aware of India's position, which has been articulated well by our leadership on several occasions. So, we had, the leaders had discussions on these conflict situations.

Moving on to the question on supply chain resilience, disruption of supply chains. Yes. You know, if you look at India-EU relations, in the last two years, one of the important topics of discussion was to see how to build a supply chain resilience. When it is disrupted, it affects the economy of all the countries in the world, including us. We have seen it happening during conflict situations in the past. We see it happening now. So how to strengthen, how to build resilience in supply chains is an important topic of discussion in the meetings that we held, and this was also discussed in the meetings here today.

Now the question related to three Ts. The third T, which I was referring to, was Talent. It is related to mobility. You know, if you look at India has the largest young population in the world. And in the last few years, the Government has been taking steps to skill them. That skilled manpower of India is an asset to the world. So that is the talent. So, when we talk about talent, we have already signed an MoU on mobility, MMPA we have signed, which is an important step in connecting the talent of India with the opportunities available in other countries.

So, this is an important step which was taken during this meeting. I am sure that it would help the youth of India to find employment opportunities in other countries, including in Finland.

As you know, we already have 33,000 Indians in Finland, and most of them are young, working in the IT sector and in other high-end technology sectors. So, there will be further opportunities with this MMPA which we have signed today.

On the telecommunication side, the Ambassador will respond.

Shri Hemant Kotalwar, Ambassador to Finland:Yeah, on the question of mobile phone that you mentioned, of course, the Finnish company Nokia is very well known in India.

But as you are aware, over the last decade, Nokia has moved away from making mobile phones to making the networking equipment. In fact, if we see the 5G equipment that has been used by Indian cell phone providers, it's basically coming from Nokia. Of course, certain patents that were there of Nokia, so some startups have come out in Finland and one of the startups has already started manufacturing in India, but it's at a very small scale, not like the old Nokia phone.

Umashankar:Mera question thoda alag hatkar hai, kyunki Finland jo hai woh happiness index mein pichle 7-8 saalon se number 1 pe chal raha hai. Toh kya work-life balance, jo ki aap logon ka bhi aaj kal theek nahi chal raha, toh work-life balance aur kaise happiness index mein hum apne desh ko upar le ke aayein is mudde pe koi baatchit hui?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]My question is a little different, because Finland has been ranked number one on the Happiness Index for the past 7-8 years. So, regarding work-life balance, which these days it's even difficult for … was there any discussion on how we can improve work-life balance and bring our country higher on the Happiness Index?

Kadambini Sharma, Independent Journalist:Kadambini Sharma, Independent Journalist. Sir, while having this conversation about reforms in the UN, was there any change in required parameters or understanding given that UNSC members, two members have undermined the UN like never before?

Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint:Clarification to my previous question. Sir, thank you, thank you again for this. I just had a clarification. I just wanted to understand why or how in the Joint Statement no mention of West Asia when the conflict is ongoing is made, when there is a clear reference to the war in Ukraine. So, was there a reason why West Asia was left out of this statement, sir? Thank you.

Unidentified Speaker: Sir, mine is also a small clarification on whether essential imports of oil, gas and many other commodities, whether that issue was also discussed for both the economies and also for both India as well as the EU.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary West: Again, thank you very much. Yes, you are right. Absolutely right. Finland has been on the top in the Happiness Index, life, work balance, etc., etc. There are several factors. In fact, this was also referred to by the President in his address today at the Raisina. I believe correct?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Yes, and also in the press statement.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary West:And also in his press statement. But he also said one more thing. He said that India in optimism index, India is the top country. His experience having visited India and also having watched India, India is a country where ... people think that tomorrow would be a better day for us, for each one of us. That is where our vision comes. We are a country which has a vision. 2047, Viksit Bharat, we are in that Amrit Kaal journey. That is the, that is the vision. So I could see that one, happiness index and optimism index, there is a very clear convergence. And when we work with Finland closely, I think we would be able to develop India into also as a happiest country. Thank you.

Let me move to the next question on UNSC. Yes, very important question. Of course, reform of United Nations and other international institutions have always been a priority for India. And the President in his address and also in his meetings highlighted the importance of having India to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

On your question about, UN getting undermined, it is very important that the reform of the UN takes place. UN, unfortunately, is stuck in the past. The reality, the geopolitical reality, geoeconomic reality of today is not getting reflected in the United Nations. So there is an understanding, there is a growing understanding among all the countries there is a need for UN Security Council reforms, UN reforms and also reform of other international institutions. Have we reached there? No, we haven't reached there at all. So there is a long way to go. But the support for the reforms is growing. And today the President has again reiterated his support for India to become a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Thank you.

Moving to the West Asia, I thought I covered that already. It was discussed in the meetings which our leaders have held today. And it's an evolving situation. Our Spokesperson has already issued a couple of statements on that. I would refer to that. I would also like to mention that there is a statement by the Indian Navy as well today ?

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Yeah, there is a press release by the Indian Navy which you can also have a look.

Shri Sibi George, Secretary West:Import of oil, gas, economy, you know, again, our position on this have been well articulated by the leadership in the past, by Foreign Secretary recently, also in his press conferences. So, I would leave it at that. We are monitoring the developments very closely. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:With that, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your presence. We come to the close of this press briefing. Thank you.

New Delhi
March 05, 2026