On April 13, the first visit of the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development of Finland Kai Mykykianen to Belarus in the history of bilateral relations took place. The delegation includes representatives of major Finnish companies such as Wärtsilä, Valmet, KPA Unicon, Kesko, Idman/Seygate Group, which work in the field of advanced innovative technologies in the energy market, agricultural equipment, and construction materials.
Meetings and negotiations of the Minister of Foreign Trade and Development of Finland with First Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky, Energy Minister Vladimir Potupchik, and Deputy Foreign Minister Oleg Kravchenko were held.
During the meetings, the directions of intensification of trade, economic and innovative cooperation between the two countries and the implementation of major investment projects in the energy sector in Belarus were considered.
Realization of the existing trade and economic potential is of great importance to Belarus in terms of attracting investment and expanding the use of modern Finnish technologies. “Unfortunately, the volume of mutual trade between Belarus and Finland is small: in 2016, the trade turnover amounted to about $ 101 million in equivalent, as it seems to us, neither the Belarusian side nor the Finnish side is satisfied with this situation,” the First Deputy Prime Minister said.
Belarus is interested in developing cooperation with the Finnish side in a number of areas: biotechnology, forestry, woodworking, biofuel production, agriculture, scientific and technical cooperation, environmental protection, etc. “We are ready to provide all necessary conditions for successful implementation of major business projects in Belarus involving Finnish companies,” said Matyushevsky.
Energy can become one of the key areas of cooperation. “Taking into account the planned launch of the first block of the Belarusian NPP, cooperation in this area seems to be promising for the both sides,” the official believes. As an example, he mentioned the possibility of building peak-reserve energy sources based on gas turbine installations, which may be of interest to the Finnish side.
Minister of Foreign Trade and Development of Finland Kai Mukkyanen noted that Finland is ready to increase investments in the development of the Belarusian economy. “We are ready not only to sell our technologies, but also invest in the development of the Belarusian economy and creation of new jobs,” he said.
Finnish businessmen also visited the representation of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Belarus, where they discussed financial aspects of bilateral economic cooperation.
Based on information resources