Pekka Haavisto, "Have you just put the multi billion dollar 5G deal at risk by uttering nonsense?"

Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto has said the situation in the valley is not “sustainable”. He suggested that members of the diplomatic community here should be allowed to visit the area for a “first-hand” experience of the ground situation

NEW DELHI: Barely days after a group of EU parliamentarians visited Kashmir in their ‘personal capacity’, Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto has said the situation in the valley is not “sustainable” and suggested that members of the diplomatic community here should be allowed to visit the area for a “first-hand” experience of the ground situation. Finland holds the rotating EU presidency till 2020.

Haavisto, who was here earlier this week to meet his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, told TOI: “We have requested that the diplomatic community here or international observers of the UN should visit Kashmir and get first-hand experience on the situation.”

Finland’s position is similar to many other countries which have accepted the abrogation of Art 370 withdrawing special status to Jammu and Kashmir as India’s internal issue and want New Delhi and Islamabad to settle the borders.

The Finnish foreign minister met some human rights groups here as well. “Really, we see the risk that when this kind of situation is prolonged, it usually doesn’t get easier with time. That was our message.”

However, Finland and India are moving forward on next-generation technology, particularly 5G. Along with Huawei, Finnish company Nokia is one of the handful of global players with 5G capability. This is one of the focus areas of cooperation between India and Finland.

Haavisto said, “We brought a delegation of our business community and universities and some researchers of artificial intelligence (AI) and new technologies. We are looking forward to more intense cooperation in our research and between academic communities." India is looking to build partnerships in 5G technology that does not include China’s behemoth Huawei.

Outlining issues, he said, “The issues of 5G have been debated in the EU. We see huge technological possibilities. For us, it is very important that safety and privacy should be guaranteed by these technologies so consumers can be sure that their information is secure and the companies are not controlled by governments and players who could misuse the information.”

This was the second time in recent weeks that the foreign ministers of Finland and India have met, since Jaishankar was in Helsinki a few weeks ago for discussions with the Finnish government.