President Home For Diwali; Gifts Nuclear Co-op Agreement With Finland

President Pranab Mukherjee who returned home after an unconventional visit to Finland has brought a Diwali bonanza. During his visit to the most picturesque nation, President Pranab Mukherjee signed a number of pacts, memorandum of understanding and agreements with the Finnish government. Major highlight of the trip would be the nuclear cooperation agreement the Indian President signed with government of Finland.

On the lighter side, Pranab Mukherjee was the first Indian President to visit the long bearded man who wears red and brings cheer during Christmas, to children and elders alike. Pranab Mukherjee met the reindeer-riding ‘ho! Ho! Ho!’ man in person when he went to Santa Claus’ workplace in Finland. This made him the first-ever President of India to cross the Arctic Ocean. However, this ‘fun’ part unraveled at the second leg of his tour.

The first part of the trip was about agreements and pacts along with high-level meetings. The pacts and agreements were about boosting mutual participation to encourage trade, education, energy sector, fishing and allied areas – with the key aspect being agreement on nuclear cooperation.

The first visit to Finland by any Indian President happened over 26 years ago when Mr R Venkataraman visited the country in 1988.
This visit for Mr Mukherjee is his second one, owing to the fact that he had represented India as a commerce minister in 1993. This is his maiden visit as the President of India.

On this trip, Mr Mukherjee was accompanied by a delegate of high-level dilopmatic experts and officials led by Union Minister P Radhakrishnan, senior officials and senior representatives of educational and academic institutions from across the country.

The two-day visit that started on October 14 had Mr Mukherjee landing back in India on October 17. The visit was completely packed with President’s participation in Finland parliament and meeting business delegations.

As for the nuclear cooperation agreement is concerned, the atomic energy regulatory board of India and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland will ensure cooperation in the field of nuclear energy between the two countries will stay rooted on several mutually beneficial factors. While cooperation in this field regarding radiation and safety regulation pertaining to exchange of information personnel and peaceful use of nuclear energy was the key objective, technology sharing and responsible use of nuclear energy has been the focus area of both countries.

Finland for its part has been very supportive of India in IAEA on issues relating to the Nuclear Suppliers Group, on a host of things on UN Security Council reforms, and has been the most crucial voice on India’s entry into the Arctic Council.

Another key aspect of his visit though was to attract investment in infrastructure and other areas in India.

Earlier (just before his arrival in Finland) during his visit to Oslo, Norway, a host of pacts were signed about stepping up cooperation in science, technology and defence sectors between the two countries.

Image: Indiatimes