Prime Minister Orpo visits India: Finland must rapidly double exports
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday 18 February and participated in the AI Impact Summit hosted by Prime Minister Modi on 19 February.
The one-on-one meeting between Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused on bilateral relations. They identified a great deal of practical cooperation and potential between the countries in fields such as the clean transition, emergent technologies, digital solutions and education.
“Finland and India enjoy good bilateral relations, and we are growing closer. We want to continue this development towards a strategic partnership and are looking to rapidly double our trade,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
“Finland and the European Union are reliable, consistent and constructive partners. The EU-India Free Trade Agreement opens significant opportunities for Finland, the EU and India,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
The prime ministers also discussed Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
“India also has a role to play in bringing Russia’s illegal war of aggression in Ukraine to a just close,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
During the visit, Prime Minister Orpo also met with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal.
Speaking at the AI Impact Summit, Prime Minister Orpo emphasised Finland’s strengths in AI and innovation and highlighted the importance of a rules-based system in the global governance of AI.
Besides heads of state and government, the summit brought together international organisations, various stakeholders, AI experts and dozens of leading AI companies from around the world. The summit strengthened an international understanding of the governance of AI development and signalled the importance of widely sharing the benefits of AI.
At the summit, Prime Minister Orpo delivered Finland’s address, in which he highlighted Finland’s AI expertise and the importance of public-private cooperation in the development, deployment and governance of AI.
“Finland has much to offer the global AI debate. We are a highly skilled, innovation-friendly and reliable environment to develop and apply AI,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
“AI must be developed with a human-centred vision while promoting the safe development and application of this technology. These efforts must take into account the interests of both Finland and the EU as well as the views of developing countries,” Prime Minister Orpo said.
A joint declaration was issued at the summit that recognises AI as a historic turning point in technological development and underlines the importance of international and multilateral cooperation. The European Commission signed the declaration on behalf of the EU Member States.
At the summit, Prime Minister Orpo also had a one-on-one meeting with Swiss President Guy Parmelin, who will be hosting the 2027 AI Impact Summit. Over the course of the summit, he also spoke with President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay, among other leaders.
Prime Minister Orpo was accompanied by a business delegation composed of representatives of 22 Finnish companies.
Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 978, Tuomas Tikkanen, Senior Adviser to the Prime Minister in European Affairs, tel. +358 40 523 5768 and Lauri Heikkinen, Senior Communications Specialist, tel. +358 46 923 5090, Prime Minister’s Office
Inquiries concerning the business delegation: Gitta Perez, Commercial Counsellor, tel. +358 41 310 1157, [email protected], Embassy of Finland, New Delhi