Finnish business mission eyeing cooperation perspectives in Russian Far East
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK. May 30 (Interfax) - A Finnish business mission has arrived in Sakhalin; it will visit Vladivostok and Khabarovsk in the upcoming days for the purposes of cooperation in the construction of icebreakers and marine transport technologies in the Russian Far East.
Everyone knows that the economic situation is not easy in the world at large, as well as in Finland and Russia, Finnish Ambassador to Russia, business mission head Hannu Himanen told Interfax, adding that bilateral trade between Finland and Russia reduced by approximately a third last year but Russia remained an important trade partner with a huge potential. The ambassador said he was hoping that the business mission would be a good start for further cooperation between the two countries.
Despite the sanctions, the Finnish companies wish to preserve and to develop cooperation with Russia; the marine industry and Arctic business are perfect examples of the areas in which Finland and Russia can share their practices, the ambassador said.
The business mission includes representatives of six Finnish companies - global leaders in the field of shipbuilding, icebreaker technologies and all types of marine transport solutions (from the construction of icebreakers and floating power plants to nature conservancy equipment), he said. These global majors are interested in working in Russia, and many of them are already doing so, the ambassador said.
Icebreakers and equipment are being actively used in the development of hydrocarbon fields on the Sakhalin shelf, he said. The business mission is planned to meet with the regional authorities of the Sakhalin region and the Primorye and Khabarovsk territories and local marine transport companies and to visit seaports and oil and gas facilities (Sakhalin).
A visit of the Finnish business mission to the Russian Far East was planned two or three years ago but was postponed until now because of the global crisis, the ambassador said.
The Far East and Finland are a long way from one another geographically, but they have a lot in common, such as the determined character and the uncompromising attitude formed under the influence of harsh nature conditions, the ambassador said.
Finland is the only littoral country in the world all ports of which freeze in winter, he said. Nevertheless, most exports from Finland go by sea, which is why Finland is a global leader in the field of ice-proof technologies and construction of icebreakers. The first next-generation icebreaker, Polaris, to be the most environmentally friendly icebreaker in the world, is under construction at Helsinki shipyards. The icebreaker will be powered by LNG and will discharge nothing into the environment. Besides, the icebreaker will have the newest equipment. It is planned to be launched in July of this year.
Finland will preside at the international Arctic Council in 2017. The ambassador said Finland was hoping to promote closer cooperation between Arctic countries in the fields of ecology, Arctic business and economic contacts in the Arctic region.