New Delhi, May 28 (IANS) Energy, waste management and high technology industry are among the areas in which India and Finland will jointly attempt innovations under a pact inked Wednesday. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Finnish service organisation Finpro signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Oulu.

“Energy, waste management and high technology industry are some of the possible areas for cooperation. Innovation cooperation will be facilitated by the MoU,” Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs Mauri Pekerannin said after the signing ceremony.

“India’s knowledge base and scientific potential also provides opportunities for bilateral cooperation,” he added.

“CII and Finpro will work towards taking the government’s agenda on innovation collaboration forward. It is proposed to set up a joint team to assess the innovation potential of at least five cities in India to determine the location of a proposed innovation centre,” a CII statement issued here said.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Indian Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar observed: “CII and Finpro’s initiative to collaborate in sharing their innovation experience is of importance as innovation and technological advancement are keys to competitiveness of national economies advancement on account of globalization.”

Stressing the importance of the Global Innovation Summit, he said: “The importance of this event is that it has once again had the effect of bringing into sharp focus the range of arguments that have advanced across the global spectrum of competitiveness of economies.”

Earlier, during his discussions with Pekerannin, Ashwani Kumar emphasized the need to involve the corporate sector in bilateral innovation efforts.

According to Pekerannin: “We agreed that we would set up a team for the purpose of agreeing on the sectors for cooperation. Over the next three months together we will assess the required activities and the forms of financing required through the Finnish Indian innovation fund.”