Closer trade relations between Finland and India

Finland will make its first country strategy for India. The DESI Initiative will strengthen Finland’s competitive positioning on the Indian market.

“India wants to be one of the internationally recognised industrialised countries. The Indian Government is planning to turn their country into the third largest economy in the world by 2030,” says Kimmo Siira, Senior Adviser on Foreign Trade at the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi.

India will harness its economic growth to conclude different kinds of trade agreements. While it is natural that India is more interested in large economies, there is also interest for pursuing closer cooperation with Finland in sectors where Finland has special expertise. Such sectors include quantum technology, 5G and 6G technology, new green technologies, energy solutions, biofuels, and research and product development linked to sustainable development.

India is on the way to becoming one of the world’s leading data economies by 2030, according to Siira.

In addition, India wants to be a trailblazer in renewable energy, green transition and sustainable development.

DESI pools Finnish expertise

To keep up with the competition and to deepen Finland’s trade relations with India, Finland has completed its first broader country strategy for India. Finland’s DESI Initiative with India is a new type of model for closer trade relations. It is Finland’s first export promotion programme with India that spans across sectors in a comprehensive way. DESI stands for Digitalisation, Education, Sustainability and Innovation. DESI is also a Hindi word for localness.

The DESI Initiative does not mean that Finland would be abandoning or replacing its customary export promotion practices. Instead, it will introduce a new dimension of export promotion. The aim is to create a pool of Finnish expertise.

The DESI Initiative together with the Team Finland network and the Finnish business and science community, Finnish top expertise from all sectors will be gathered under one umbrella. Finland’s Embassy in New Delhi will guide the work within the DESI Initiative. The DESI Initiative was published on Wednesday 20 September 2023.

“India’s development will have a huge impact on the future of our planet. India’s actions and choices will inevitably affect all of us. Finland must try seize the growing commercial and economic opportunities offered by India, while building collaboration with India in a way that supports not only economic development but also environmentally and socially sustainable solutions,” says Jari Sinkari, Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Department for the Americas and Asia.