India, Finland agree to enhance cooperation in road sector

India and Finland have agreed to cooperate in building roads and highways and share information on attracting more investments for public-private-partnership (PPP) projects in the sector.

A Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in this regard was signed between Transport Minister Kamal Nath and his Finnish counterpart Anu Vehvilainen in Helsinki yesterday, an official statement issued here today said.

The MoC, the statement said, will discuss various aspects of road transport, including improving road safety, simplifying the procedure for competitive bidding, implementation and supervision of projects and ways and means to attract more investment for PPP projects.

"Under the MoC an Indo-Finnish Joint Working Group (JWG) has been established to promote and activate institutional cooperation," the statement said, adding that the first meeting of the JWG is expected to be convened in India within the next three months with likely participation of the Finnish Transport Minister.

The two countries also intend to promote and develop business relations between consultancy and engineering companies working in the roads sector so as to promote industrial cooperation agreements and transfers of technology.

It was observed that India could benefit from some of the policies and practices in Finland.

"Finland has well established systems in the areas of vehicle Inspection and Certification and Accident Investigation. Accidents are investigated by special multi-disciplinary investigation boards that examine the cause of the accident, suggest preventive measures and contribute to policy making," the statement said.

Finland is also examining legislation to curb drunken driving through introduction of "Alcohol Locks" in vehicles, it added.

Nath also held meetings with Minister of Economic Affairs Mauri Pekkarinen, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, Paavo Vayrynen, and Minister of Environment Paula Lehtomaki.