Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen has said that the India-EU Free Trade Agreement will benefit both sides in investment and jobs. He also said that Finland will make every possible effort in the European Union to implement this agreement as soon as possible.
helsinki [फिनलैंड]July 6 (ANI): As India and Finland strengthen their ties, Finland’s Foreign Affairs Minister Elina Valtonen on Monday said the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will benefit both sides in terms of investment and jobs. India and the EU reached an agreement on an FTA in January 2026, eliminating duties on several goods including textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, marine products, gems and jewellery, handicrafts, engineering goods and automobiles. The formal signing of the FTA is expected to take place in December 2026.
Both benefit from India-EU FTA
Speaking to ANI, the Finnish minister said that “Finland and India have never had better relations,” and the two countries can further strengthen ties in trade, green energy and security sectors. He said, “Finland will do all it can to get the FTA implemented in the EU as soon as possible. At the national level, we see great potential in concluding this agreement, both for our businesses, to accelerate trade, to bring greater investment on both sides, to bring jobs and prosperity to our people, and also from a political point of view.”
Special friendship between Finland and India
Referring to “a special friendship” with India, Valtonen said that two countries that value people making their own choices should cooperate closely with each other. The Finnish minister said, “It is important that countries that value a future where people can make their own choices cooperate even more closely with each other, and certainly in this regard Finland and India have a very special friendship.”
He said Finland discussed strengthening ties with India on the common agenda during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the European nation in June.
Cooperation in trade and security will increase
Valtonen said, “I think relations between Finland and India have never been better. There is a lot of potential to deepen and broaden the common agenda. And this is indeed something that we had the opportunity to consider when my counterpart Dr. Jaishankar was visiting Finland recently.”
He further said, “There is a lot we can do on the trade, trade and investment side, in digitalization, in the green transition, and in security-related matters, in space and in unprecedented technologies in general. Now, I think the basis of this is the free trade agreement between the EU and India, which has been extremely well accepted, and I am sure it will be a very good basis for even deeper cooperation.”
Finland will help in carbon neutrality
Furthermore, Valtonen said that Finland would “gladly assist” India in achieving carbon neutrality. “Finland is one of the leading countries in the world that aims to become carbon-neutral by 2035. We are happy to help our close friends achieve climate neutrality as soon as possible, because it is not only important for the entire planet, but it is also important for people to be able to live in a clean environment. It is also important for our businesses, because clean energy is actually a very attractive business case as well,” he told ANI.
During Jaishankar’s visit to Finland, the two leaders reviewed progress under the India-Finland Strategic Partnership and discussed expanding cooperation in key emerging technology areas. They discussed cooperation on start-ups, Artificial Intelligence (AI), semiconductors, critical minerals, quantum technologies, 6G, clean energy and space. (ANI)
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