By IANS
New Delhi : Even as India works towards an India-European Union economic partnership pact, bilateral relations with Finland need to be strengthened with greater contact between people of the two countries, Commerce and Trade Minister Kamal Nath said here Monday.
“There is enormous commercial potential in a strategic alliance between a technologically advanced, mature industrial economy like Finland and a rapidly growing developing country like India,” the minister told a Finnish business delegation at an event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the capital.
Referring to a recent report in which India has been ranked as the second-most attractive destination for investment, Kamal Nath said: “While our growth is essentially domestic investment and consumption driven, foreign investment is making a significant contribution.”
“We received foreign direct investment of close to $20 billion (Rs.796.5 billion) in 2006, and expect to receive about $30 billion (Rs.1.2 trillion) this year.”
The Finnish business delegation includes representatives from over 20 companies, led by Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Vayrynen.
Some of the prominent Finnish firms in the delegation are Nokia Corp, Finnfund, Outokumpu Oyj, OKO Bank, Alteams Oy and Cargotec Corp.
Some of the big Finnish companies that have operations in India are Nokia, Kone, Sandvik and Wartsila.
“For too long the economic engagement between India and Finland has lagged behind our political ties. We need to discuss some very big flagship bilateral projects such as in public transport, ports, utilities and other public infrastructure sectors,” Kamal Nath emphasised.
“Finnish companies are known for taking a long-term view of their businesses. I believe that India has much to learn from their corporate philosophy and practice,” he added.