New Delhi: The 12th India and Finland Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) held in New Delhi on November 1. Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Sanjay Verma led the Indian side while Permanent State Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Jukka Salovaara led the Finnish side.
Posting on X, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi wrote: "12th India-Finland FoC held in New Delhi today. Co-chaired by Secy (West) @SanjayVermaIFS and Permanent State Secretary @jukka_salovaara of @Ulkoministerio. Discussions covered bilateral, regional and multilateral issues including political, digital partnership, sustainability partnership, education, AI, 5G, quantum, mobility, India-EU cooperation, Arctic and Ukraine conflict."
Permanent State Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Jukka Salovaara also posted on X: "Time in New Delhi is time well spent. Thankful for my 🇮🇳 colleague Secretary (West) @SanjayVermalFS for excellent talks. In short: great momentum in 🇫🇮🇮🇳bilateral relations but our geopolitical environment is deeply worrying. Good to compare notes together."
Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Sanjay Verma also took to the social media platform X and wrote: "Engaging talks with Finnish Permanent Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs @jukka_salovaara. Discussed pol. ties, trade, Quantum computing, circular economy, mobility, India- EU FTA, the UN and the Arctic, and our respective regions. @FinlandinIndia @Ulkoministerio @MEAIndia"
"India and Finland enjoy close and friendly relations and have regular exchanges at both political and official levels. Year 2024 will be the 75th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and both sides decided to celebrate it in a befitting manner", Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in its statement.
During the FOC, India and Finland reviewed bilateral relations, including political engagements, trade and investments, education, digital partnership, sustainability partnership, mobility, cultural relations and people-to-people contacts.
India and Finland also Discussed multilateral cooperation including the Arctic and reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The FOC provided an opportunity to exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including developments in the neighbourhood of India and Finland including Ukraine conflict, MEA further said.
India and Finland agreed to hold the next round of Foreign Office Consultations at a mutually convenient time in Helsinki.
