New Delhi [India], March 6 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finland President Alexander Stubb emphasised the vast potential for collaboration in sustainability and clean energy solutions, including low-carbon transition, energy efficiency, biofuels, smart grids and green hydrogen.

During President Stubb's ongoing State Visit to India, the two leaders highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation in areas such as circular economy, sustainable water management and meteorology.

According to a Ministry of External Affairs statement, they welcomed the establishment of a Joint Working Group on Sustainability aimed at bringing together stakeholders from both countries to enhance collaboration on sustainability-related initiatives.

The leaders also underscored the importance of implementing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy, which covers several areas of partnership contributing to sustainability.

These include bioenergy and waste-to-energy solutions, power storage and flexible renewable energy systems, green hydrogen, as well as wind, solar and small hydro power.

Both sides acknowledged the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding on Environmental Cooperation and ongoing collaboration under the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT). They encouraged further cooperation in areas such as circular economy, climate action and sustainability.

The statement also noted that rapid deployment of Smart Energy solutions, including Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and other digital grid technologies, has improved efficiency but also increased cybersecurity risks to critical power infrastructure. In this context, the two countries agreed to explore cooperation in building resilient, reliable and sustainable smart grid systems.

President Stubb expressed appreciation to India for hosting the next World Circular Economy Forum later in 2026, an initiative originally launched by Finland that aims to bring together global expertise to advance circular economy solutions and promote new collaborative initiatives.

Prime Minister Modi acknowledged Finland's efforts in bringing together Indian, Finnish and Nordic stakeholders through the Indo-Nordic Water Forum, which promotes collaboration and best practices in water resource management and wastewater treatment for circular economy solutions.

The leaders also emphasised the importance of meteorological cooperation. They noted ongoing collaboration between the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in aerosol monitoring and air quality forecasting. Work is also underway to establish a Virtual Research Center between FMI and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), while ongoing multilateral projects between the institutions exceed a combined value of 11 million euros.

In addition, the leaders took note of the exchange of experiences between India's Ministry of Rural Development and Finland's National Land Survey and Finnish Environment Institute regarding the 'Land Stack', an integrated GIS-based digital platform that manages land and property information.

The two sides also welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in Official Statistics to facilitate the exchange of best practices, methodologies and technical expertise.

Highlighting the significance of people-to-people ties, the leaders emphasised the importance of greater engagement among skilled workers, specialists, researchers, students, academics and businesspersons. In this context, they welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on Migration and Mobility Partnership, which aims to promote smooth, orderly and mutually beneficial movement of professionals and students between the two countries.

Both sides agreed to take necessary steps to implement the agreement in a coordinated manner that contributes to the prosperity and economic growth of both nations. They also acknowledged ongoing contacts between their respective foreign ministries regarding the possibility of establishing a bilateral dialogue on consular matters.

The leaders further took note of the MEA Statement endorsed by the High-Level Dialogue on Cooperation in Education held on January 31, 2024, and encouraged stakeholders to accelerate cooperation in areas such as secondary education, higher education, skill development and student mobility.

The statement noted growing interest in the Finnish education system in India, particularly in teacher training and early childhood education, with several institutions being established in India following the Finnish model.

The leaders also highlighted discussions on a potential bilateral audiovisual co-production agreement aimed at enhancing collaboration in the film and gaming industries.

President Stubb is on a State Visit to India from March 4 to 7 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi. It is his first visit to India in his current capacity. During the visit, he is travelling to New Delhi and Mumbai and is accompanied by Finnish Minister of Climate and the Environment Sari Multala, Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen and a high-level delegation of officials and business leaders.

Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi also inaugurated the 11th edition of the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, where President Stubb attended as the Chief Guest and delivered the inaugural keynote address.

President Stubb's visit follows the trip to India by Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in February this year to participate in the AI Impact Summit. (ANI)