India and Finland has had a long standing relationship with bilateral trade worth a billion dollars annually. There are 120 Finnish companies doing business in India. President Pranab Mukherjee has embarked on a State visit to Finland, during which he is expected to sign 19 agreements with Finland areas ranging from education to clean technology and energy. BusinessLine was invited to interview the President of Finland Sauli Niinistö where he discussed the future of Indo-Finnish relationship and role Indian can play in areas like climate change and global security. Edited Excerpts.

What would be your expectations from your meeting with the President of India?

First of all your President is an interesting individual. I am very interested to hear his global views. The 19 agreements to be signed will enhance cooperation. Idea is to create the big picture and hope that we can enhance our cooperation.

Finland has greater trade with China compared to India. What are the challenges coming in the way of greater India Finland trade?

Our cooperation with China has been quite active. But there’s no obstacle in opening further trade with India too. In China now we have over 300 Finnish companies compared to 120 in India. But we all know the Nokia case and the Vodafone case. Maybe that’s caused some thinking among investors who maybe careful not knowing what exactly has taken place.

Would you like to communicate to the Indian Government through us any concerns you may have with regard to the way the Nokia tax case has been handled?

I don’t want to send any message to the Indian Government but I just would like to point out that usually one thing needed is clarity. You have to know the exact rules, and that the rules are stable. Vodafone has won one case last weekend last weekend so that's positive.

Is the Nokia issue a setback to India Finland relationship at large?

It’s a problem for Nokia. And other consequences like I said that it is possible that investors are worried , its question mark on taking risk. They might think it is a risk.

Does Finland support India’s claims for permanent membership in the UN Security Council?

It is natural that superpower like India must be represented in security council. I had said couple of weeks ago we don’t like one country veto. If new members are taken I think that should be discussed. We do support India’s membership.

Given that energy security is a key concern for both countries are you open to a nuclear energy cooperation with India?

Well I see no obstacle in that. But I don't have anything concrete at this point. Tomorrow there will be a cooperation arrangement signed between the Indian atomic regulator and the radiation and nuclear safety authority of Finland.

Is there anything specific about India that fascinates you ?

Meditation comes to my mind. I relate India to deep human thinking and very wise and intelligent people. I associate India with chess and I somehow combine countries with good chess players to intelligence.

You have been vocal about climate change but at the recent UN summit, India and China stayed away. Do you think this was a dampener to the entire discussion?

What I understood from President Obama is that USA and China are trying to discuss this issue bilaterally and surely Indian is very important in this aspect. We would like India to be as involved as possible so that we can achieve the targets.

Finland has supported the war against ISIS. Will you support India’s war against terror that we believe is coming from across the border?

I know India has been active in Afghanistan. I support any cause thats against terror. I would not go any further on India Pakistan relationship. I would like to say that India has done a lot on the fight against terror in Afghanistan.

Do you agree that Asia is the next big growth engine for global economy?

Its good that Asia grows. at least someone is growing globally. In Europe we have wake up. Human beings very easily start to think that we have done well in the past and it will continue to happen, It will not happen and this must be faced. We have some positive signals coming from the US. So it seems US will keep its strong position but Asia, with China and India is growing faster.

How do you see the BRICS competing with the EU?

Not with EU but probably with the US. EU is not dominating the global economy anymore. On the other hand I don’t believe BRICS has seen very keen cooperation within because of the countries involved. But the fund which has been founded now by BRICS may become an alternative to world bank, the IMF and the Bretton Woods system.

Have you been impacted by the sanctions on Russia and do you think the situation could have been better handled?

We are not affected economically with the sanctions but is is very obvious that Russian consumption are reducing so that has more impact. The catastrophe in Ukraine has been condemned by us. The term cold war has been used again but we should not let this turn into a cold war, that’s what worries us the most. European Union and Russia should have cooperated earlier on, more than a year ago, that would have helped the both to improve our positions globally. It is not good to have a border line of distrust.

Is Finland reconsidering joining Nato?

We have proposed the creation of a European common defence policy. Europe should create security for its people. We are not part of the Nato but there is an ongoing discussion about it in Finland. Recent poll showed that 26% percent are now supporting Finland joining Nato. But many say that maybe the timing is not the right one. My opinion is that we need cooperation. We are cooperating with Sweden (a non- Nato country) and we also partner with Nato.