Year 2008
The First Finland-China-Russia Economic Forum on 30-31 October
On 30–31 October 2008, Finland will host the first Finland–China–Russia Economic Forum, which will take place in Helsinki. The Forum’s main themes will include modern forestry, energy, environment, transport and logistics.
The Finnish Ministry of Employment and the Economy will organise the Forum in co-operation with the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry for Economic Development of the Russian Federation, and it will be hosted by Mauri Pekkarinen, Minister of Economic Affairs from the Ministry of Employment and the Economy, and Paavo Väyrynen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The speakers in the opening plenary session will feature, for instance, Elvira Nabiullina, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation and Qiu Hong, Assistant Minister of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China.
The objective of the Economic Forum is to improve dialogue between Finnish, Russian and Chinese companies and public officials, in light of developing commercial and financial co-operation and investments.
In the Round Table meetings of the Forum, recognised national experts will introduce national sectoral policies and strategies and topical development projects of their countries. For instance, in the forestry sector, the new Finnish forestry policy, the Chinese forestry industry policy and the Russian development strategy for forestry will be introduced and opportunities for co-operation between the countries explored. In the transport and logistics sector, the featured themes will include the role of Russian harbours in international transport of goods, the development of logistics in China, and the development of future maritime routes in Finland.
As concerns energy and environmental technology, the themes will include post-Kyoto Agreement technological challenges and opportunities, focus areas in the development of Russian fuel and energy industry, and the current energy consumption situation in China. In addition, such themes as Chinese “Eco-Province” project, conservation of energy, and modern waste management will be introduced.
Towards the end of the forum, visionary views of potential future co-operation between the countries within the sectors addressed during the Forum will be presented by Director Pekka Sutela from the Bank of Finland’s Institute for Economies in Transition (BOFIT), Ma Keqing, Ambassador of China to Finland, and Professor Ruslan Grinberg, Director of the Institute for International Economic and Political Studies of the Russian Academy of Science.
Some 300 representatives of business life, administration and high-level decision-makers will attend the event. After the Forum, the participants will be offered the possibility to familiarise themselves with Finnish companies or locations in or near Helsinki which represent the event’s key themes.
Further information:
Henrik Räihä, Director, MEE, tel. +358 10 606 3617
Merja Lättilä, Senior Specialist, MEE, tel. +358 10 606 2123
