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During his visit, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) will also attend the India AI Impact Summit, alongside world leaders and billionaire executives.
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) is on an official four-day visit to India this week, joined by a delegation of business leaders aiming to boost trade between the countries.
Following a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Orpo said the bilateral relationship between Finland and India is very good.
Orpo said the half-hour meeting he held with Modi included discussions about India’s relationship with the EU, as well as its bilateral relationship with Finland.
The PM told Finnish news agency STT that he received a clear message that India wants to cooperate with Finland, particularly in the fields of artificial intelligence and digitalisation.
According to Orpo, the goal is to double trade between Finland and India in the coming years.
AI summit
During his visit, Orpo will attend the India AI Impact Summit on Thursday, an event hosted by his Indian counterpart.
The annual summit’s fourth iteration is being held in India for the first time. It is expected to draw more than 250,000 visitors to New Delhi this week, including a number of AI executives, Silicon Valley billionaires, world leaders and more than 300 exhibitors, according to Reuters.
The Finnish PM is also due to hold a number of high level meetings during his visit.
Orpo’s trip began on Tuesday, joined by a business delegation representing 22 Finnish firms.
According to Gitta Perez, the Finnish Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Middle East and India region head, Finnish companies see significant opportunities in India, especially in the areas of sustainable infrastructure and the green transition.
Ahead of Orpo’s trip, in a press release, the Finnish government said “the summit gives an opportunity to strengthen the common understanding of the principles of global AI governance and to build international cooperation related to the theme”.
Orpo said the trip would aim to “highlight Finland’s strengths in the fields of AI policy and innovation”.
“Finland has world-class expertise in AI and potential to lead the way in its use. At the same time, we will also promote the safe and responsible use of AI. Geopolitical and economic competition keeps growing, and Finland must be highly active in international technology issues. Besides cooperation among the like-minded countries, we must also seek a common understanding with other countries,” Orpo said in the release.
Orpo also attended the AI Action Summit last year, when it was held in Paris.