Mumbai, December 04, 2025: His Excellency Mr. Kimmo Lähdevirta, Ambassador of Finland to India, led a high-level Finnish business delegation to Mumbai from December 1–2 to enhance investment, trade and sustainability cooperation between Finland and India. The visit comes as negotiations on the India–EU Free Trade Agreement gain momentum, opening new avenues for bilateral collaboration.
India and Finland currently maintain commercial ties valued at approximately €3 billion annually. Maharashtra served as a key focus of the visit, positioned as a strategic entry point for future business-to-business and business-to-government partnerships across Western India.
During the two-day engagement, the delegation met with the Ministry of Industries, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), and the state’s Minister of Skills, Entrepreneurship, Employment and Innovation, Mr. Mangal Prabhat Lodha. At a session hosted by the Ministry of Industries, companies including Kone Elevators, Wärtsilä, Elematic, Lindström, Nokia, Mirasys, Tana, RiverRecycle and Vaisala explored opportunities related to sustainable industrial development, advanced manufacturing and digital innovation.
Reflecting on the visit, Ambassador Kimmo Lähdevirta said, “Finland and Maharashtra share a long-standing and forward-looking partnership built on sustainability, innovation, and trust. Our commitment here is tangible: we have about 100 Finnish companies actively doing business here in India, of which about 30 are headquartered in Maharashtra, and we quite recently established the Consulate General in Mumbai. During this visit, we witnessed strong commitment from both sides to deepen cooperation in areas such as clean technology, circular economy and digitalization. The hopefully soon-to-be-concluded India-EU FTA will be a game-changer for this partnership, and we are here to lay the groundwork now, to ensure Finland stands ready to work closely with India in advancing a more resource-efficient and climate-resilient future.”
As part of the programme, Finnish organisations also participated in a session on enhancing sustainability impacts through CSR and circular economy solutions, where companies presented practical innovations supporting India’s transition toward a circular and low-carbon economy.
Commenting on the growing partnership, Dr. P. Anbalagan, Secretary (Industries), Government of Maharashtra, said, “The partnership between Maharashtra and Finland combines Maharashtra’s proactive and progressive policy ecosystem with Finland’s expertise in clean technology and digital innovation, promoting collaboration in smart manufacturing, green mobility and skill development to build a sustainable and innovative future for both regions. Maharashtra’s proactive policies and its focus on nurturing young entrepreneurs make it a key beneficiary, attracting global knowledge, advanced training, and investment opportunities.”
The visit reinforced the outcomes of the 13th India–Finland Foreign Office Consultations held last month, where both nations prioritized cooperation in emerging technologies and reaffirmed the DESI framework—Digitalization, Education, Sustainability, and Innovation—as the foundation for future collaboration. The discussions also align with Finland’s emphasis on India’s rising global importance, a message highlighted recently by Finland’s President Alexander Stubb at the G20 Summit.If you’d like, I can also create headline variations, a shorter 120-word brief, or social media captions for this story.
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