External Affairs Minister (MEA) S Jaishankar on September 20, unveiled statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Helsinki, Finland. statue was created by rewned Indian sculptor Gautam Pal and gifted to Finland by Indian Council for strengning Cultural Relations. 

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Unveiled Mahatma Statue

external affairs minister tweeted, "Unveiled statue of Mahatma Gandhi by Gautam Pal. Thank city of Helsinki and Finnish Foreign Ministry. Was so good to see Indian community re. Underlined that Mahatma's mess of cour, hope and truth was relevant to fight terrorism."

India against terrorism

MEA Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Finland, which began on Thursday. Before unveiling statue on Friday, Jaishankar held a wide range of discussions, including terrorism and green techlogies, with top Finnish leership. He delivered a speech on 'India and World - Priorities of Indian Foreign Policy' at Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA).

Jaishankar, in an apparent reference to Pakistan, said, "India lives in a tough neighbourhood and faces more than its fair share of national security challenges. Most prominent among m is cross-border terrorism that we have been subjected to for many deces."

He furr said that India's decision to revoke Jammu and Kashmir's special status has a "national security contation" as he emphasized that "epicentre of global terrorism" is right re in country's "neighbourhood".  

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'Development oriented' Foreign policy

Jaishankar also said India's foreign policy "has a strong developmental focus w as we explore sourcing techlogy, best practices, capital, resources and collaborations with global partners." In this regard, he focused on 'development-oriented' foreign policy of India, while attempting to strengn relations with Finland and said, "It is certainly an aspect that I believe Finland should study closely in identifying furr prospects for growth of our relationship." Jaishankar ted that over 100 Finnish companies, including Wartsila and kia, are present in India.

" urbanisation of India, growth of middle-class and changes in lifestyle will create new opportunities. se could be outbound too, in services offered abro by our IT companies or holiday resorts in Finland operated by Mahindra," he said. 

Elaborating on need for a furr increase in harmonious and amicable relations between India and Finland, Jaishankar said, as world moves towards a more kwledge-based ecomy, natural strengths of two ecomies could complement each or. He also ded that India's talent and its leapfrogging strategy at home are two natural avenues for Finnish businesses to eng. 

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(With inputs from PTI)