New Delhi: India on Thursday called for an “early end” to the wars in West Asia and Ukraine amid growing concerns about the expansion of the Iran-US conflict, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that New Delhi will back all efforts aimed at restoring peace since no issue can be resolved through military hostilities.
Modi’s remarks followed his talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who emphasised the need to end Russia’s war against Ukraine and ensure peace in line with the principles of the UN. The two leaders met in New Delhi as the US and Israel’s war with Iran entered its sixth day, with both sides carrying out strikes that heightened tensions across West Asia.
“We are in agreement that no issue can be resolved solely through military conflict. Whether in Ukraine or in West Asia, we will continue to support every effort aimed at the early end of conflict and the restoration of peace,” Modi said, noting that India and Finland believe in rule of law, dialogue and diplomacy.
The world is passing through a phase of instability and uncertainty amid the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia, and the growing cooperation between India and Europe is “imparting new strength” to global stability and development, Modi said.
Stubb called for reforms in global governance and backed India’s bid for a seat in a reformed UN Security Council and said, “For us Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has lasted for too long – four years. We agreed that ending the war is in everyone’s interests, a lasting peace can only be one that respects the principles of the UN.”
The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on migration and mobility partnership to facilitate the movement of talent, including enhanced access to internships and post-study employment opportunities for Indian students, and agreed to double bilateral trade by 2030 by capitalising on the India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement that was concluded in January. They also decided to begin negotiations on an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty.
Finland has emerged as a new destination for Indian professionals, especially in technology and innovation, and the Nordic country is home to 33,000 Indians, most of them working in the IT and technology sectors. However, two-way trade in goods has fallen from $2.02 billion in 2022-23 to $1.31 billion in 2024-25. Major Finnish firms such as Nokia, Kone Elevators, Wartsila, and Ahlstrom have manufacturing facilities in India.
Modi said the India-EU trade deal will strengthen trade, investment and technology cooperation between India and Finland, and the elevation of bilateral relations to a “strategic partnership in digitalisation and sustainability” will bolster cooperation in high-technology sectors such as AI, 6G telecommunications and clean energy.
The two sides also agreed to deepen collaboration in defence, space, semiconductors and critical minerals, and Modi said the partnership between two democratic and responsible nations will contribute to trustworthy technologies and resilient supply chains. He also highlighted the work done in India in the past by Finnish companies. “Nokia mobile phones and telecom networks have connected millions of people across India. With the cooperation of Finnish architects, we built the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab river. With Finland’s partnership, we established the world’s largest bamboo-to-bioethanol refinery in Numaligarh,” he said.
Stubb said that India’s, as one of the fastest growing economies and a foreign policy shaped by a “pragmatic and realistic worldview”, had shown the importance of “strategic caution and safeguarding autonomy”. In a turbulent world, “India and its friends in the Global South will determine the direction in which this [evolving world] order will go”, he said.
The two sides also renewed an MoU covering collaboration in sustainability, including waste-to-energy solutions, green hydrogen, and small hydro power plants, and finalised another MoU on cooperation in statistics. They decided to establish a joint working group on digitalisation focused on cooperation in new and emerging technologies such as 6G, quantum communications and quantum computing, to create a joint task force on 6G research, and to establish a consular dialogue between the two foreign ministries.
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