Finland and the US have signed a Joint Statement on Cooperation in Advanced Wireless Communications in Helsinki, which was seen as the ”free world’s” response to Chinese technology.
Following the signing at the Helsinki Town Hall, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Greens) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented that the 6G roll-out will be more transparent.
“Together with allies and partners”, the US will mobilise ”hundreds of billions of dollars to finance high-quality infrastructure in countries where it’s needed most,” said Blinken.
He added that it will be built ”in a way that’s transparent”.
Cooperation between Finland and the US in scientific research, standardisation and technology development aims ”to create a joint global approach toward sustainable, competitive, secure, trustworthy technology and supplier-neutral 6G technologies,” the official statement reads.
Speaking to Helsingin Sanomat, Haavisto did not shy away from mentioning China – a mention left out in the statement, which instead focuses more on cooperation between the US and Finland.
The US and Finland want to see a 6G system that is “democratic, transparent and where human rights are respected”, said Haavisto.
“China is an important trading partner both for the US and Finland, but especially after the coronavirus, we witnessed these negative dependencies,” he added.
Meanwhile, Risto E.J. Penttilä, CEO of Nordic West Office, a global affairs consultancy and think tank, spoke to MTV3 about the deal, highlighting its wide-reaching global effect.
”6G is both part of NATO’s global strategy and its vision of the future. According to it, the free world and democracies must possess reliable technology and a reliable 6G network,” he told MTV3, noting that such technology “can be delivered by the Finns and the Swedes, meaning that there would be no need for relying on Chinese technology.”
“This is part of the big global game between China and the US in which Finland and Sweden will have an important role to play,” said Penttilä to MTV3 News channel.
Source: EURA CTIV