Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner will visit India from 12 to 17 November 2017. She will travel to Delhi, Nagpur and Bangalore.
Minister Berner will speak at a World Conference of the International Road Federation in Delhi, take part in the international ministerial meeting arranged in connection with the conference, and speak at the opening event of the Bangalore Technology Summit. The programme also includes several ministerial meetings.
She will meet Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari as well as other ministers of the Governments of India and the state of Karnataka. During the conference she will also have several meetings with ministers, public officials and companies.
"India is an especially interesting country at the moment, because the infrastructure of different modes of transport is developing very rapidly there. The capacity of communications networks is also growing fast and the country is investing in 5G technology, internet of things and research and development of the telecommunications branch. These provide an excellent framework for intelligent transport services," Minister Berner says.
The discussions between the Finnish and Indian ministers will focus on legislation relating to automation of transport modes, reduction of emissions from transport, requirements for 5G networks, information security, railway markets and mobility as a service.
Minister Berner says that one of the most important aims of the trip is to discuss the role of government in promoting intelligent transport services. For example transport automation and robotisation call for international agreements.
"We, as governments, have to ensure that national and international legislation provide a favourable environment for testing new technologies and support the automation development in all modes of transport. A good example is the shipping sector, where automation requires globally consistent legislation. In order to move this forward, a broad-based international discussion is needed," Minister Berner says.
During the trip, a Memorandum of Cooperation between Finland and India concerning transport will be renewed. Its scope will be extended from road transport to cover all transport modes, automation, transport data and reducing emissions from transport.
More information about the programme of the visit:
Maaria Mäntyniemi, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 50 444 0922
