India, Finland enter environmental cooperation

India’s Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its nod to a preliminary agreement between India and Finland on environmental protection, as per an official announcement on October 10. It will also enable long-term partnership between the two nations in management of natural resources. The agreement will bring in the latest technologies and best practices suited for improved conservation and management of climate change and wildlife conservation. The latest partnership follows a 31 per cent jump in bilateral trade to US$1.7 billion during 2017-18 owing to strengthening ties.

The areas of cooperation under the agreement will include:

• Air and water pollution prevention, with remediation of soil contamination
• Hazardous waste management, promotion of waste-to-energy technologies
• Promotion of circular economy, commercialisation of low-carbon solutions
• sustainable management of natural resources, including forest resources
• Effective handling of the impact of climate change on society and economy
• Environmental and forest monitoring and data management and analysis
• Conservation of marine and coastal resources, integrated water management

India and Finland are growing economies that face challenges of natural resources management, air and water pollution, among others. Hence the countries, with growing bilateral interactions, are well suited to share technologies and best practice in environment protection. Finnish firms invested US$419 million between April, 2000 to July, 2017. In the EU, Finland ranks 12th among countries investing in India. In 2016, Finland was India’s 60th largest trade partner globally, and the 10th largest within the EU. Similarly in 2016, India was Finland’s 23rd largest trade partner globally, and the fifth largest within Asia.