Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen to visit India

Press release 208/2007
17 October 2007

Dr. Paavo Väyrynen, the Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, will make a trade promotion trip to India on 21–26 October. The destinations will be New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. Travelling with the Minister will be a business delegation of about 20 people, including representatives of, among others, the paper, engineering, chemicals, communications, metals, environment and finance sectors. The leader of the business delegation will be Director Yrjö-Pekka Rautalahti of UPM-Kymmene Corporation.

The purpose of the visit is to survey the business opportunities offered by India, to present Finnish know-how to Indian authorities and companies, and to obtain current information about trends in the country’s business environment. An additional objective is to promote Finnish investment in India and Indian investment in Finland. The rapid growth of the Indian economy that has taken place in the past few years provides a good base for new trade and investment opportunities.

The host of Minister Väyrynen’s visit to India is Minister for Commerce and Industry Mr. Kamal Nath. In addition, Minister Väyrynen will meet with other key ministers. Aside from exploring possibilities for commercial and economic cooperation, ministerial-level meetings will address relations between Finland and India as well as topical regional and global issues.

An Indo-Finnish Business Forum will be organised in Mumbai, in cooperation with the local Chambers of Commerce.

Additional information: First Secretary Ville Lahelma, Unit for Asia and Oceania, tel. +358 9 1605 6203, and Pirjo-Liisa Heikkilä, Press Attaché to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, tel. +358 40 705 5623