India, Finland for 'speedy & fair' solutions to invst issues

With Nokia tax dispute continuing to cast its shadow on India-Finland trade ties, Prime Ministers of the two countries today agreed that seeking "speedy and fair" solutions to investment issues is important to boost investor confidence.
During a bilateral meeting with Finland Prime Minister Juha Sipila on the sidelines of 'Make in India' event here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also talked about several initiatives including to improve ease of doing business that have been taken to bring in consistency, clarity and predictability in policies.
Sipila, accompanied by a large business delegation, was here to participate in the inauguration of the 'Make in India Week' this evening.

According to a joint statement, issued after wide-ranging talks between the two Prime Ministers, the visiting leader welcomed the efforts made by the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi himself for reaching out to the business sector.
"The Prime Minister of India mentioned that several initiatives including Ease of Doing Business have been taken to bring in consistency, clarity and predictability in policies.
"Both Prime Ministers agreed that seeking speedy and fair solutions to investment issues and conduct of Mutual Agreement Procedure are important elements in increasing investor confidence," the statement said.

Nokia is facing a tax demand of nearly Rs 2,000 crore from Indian revenue authorities, and the matter is in court. The tax department had in 2013 slapped a tax notice of nearly Rs 2,000 crore on Nokia's Indian subsidiary for violating the withholding tax norms since 2006 while making royalty payments to the parent company in Finland.

Agreeing on the need to tap the full potential of the EU-India strategic partnership, the leaders welcomed the intention of the two sides to hold a Summit in 2016, the statement said.
"They also welcomed the prospect of resumption of talks on the India-EU Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA)".
Noting that there are more than 100 Finnish companies in India and some 25 Indian companies are in Finland, the statement said many of the Finnish companies in India have manufacturing plants in the country and are truly 'Make in India-companies'.
The two leaders also discussed other key bilateral and regional issues including reforms in the UN Security Council and condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They reiterated zero tolerance for this menace which seriously undermines international peace and security, growth and development.

Apart from assuring the support of Finland to India to become a permanent member of the UNSC, Prime Minister Sipila took a positive view on India's membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and Missile Technology Control Regime.
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The joint statement further said that several Finnish companies are engaged in the renewable energy and clean-tech segments in India.
Apart from a Finnish energy company that already owns two solar power plants in India and has won a bid to build a third one, a Finnish mobile phone network manufacturer has an R&D centre in India that employs 6000 people and their equipment serves 280 million mobile phone subscribers, it added.

The two Prime Ministers also inaugurated, digitally, Trivitron's Labsystems Diagnostics IVD (In vitro diagnostics) factory in Chennai.
Highlighting Finland's capacities in the civil nuclear energy field, Sipila said there are four reactors in operation in his country.
Besides, Finnish companies and relevant government agencies can offer solutions related to safety and security ecosystems in nuclear power plants, he added.