On May 23 a roundtable discussion titled “Status and Prospects for Business Cooperation Between St. Petersburg and Finland in the Field of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” was held today in the framework of SPIEF.
St. Petersburg and Finland discussed 'the White Paper' on the margins of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).
Organizers: Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg together with the Group of Finnish Advisors to the Governor of St. Petersburg.
May 23, 2014. A roundtable discussion titled “Status and Prospects for Business Cooperation Between St. Petersburg and Finland in the Field of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” was held today in the framework of SPIEF.
Evgeny Grigoriev, Chairman, St. Petersburg Committee for External Relations:
“Finland is traditionally a strategic partner of our city. We value the stable cooperation between our two countries. Even during the global economic crisis, the level of this cooperation remained higher and more intense than with many partners of St. Petersburg. Finnish business came to St. Petersburg at a difficult time when our country was going through economic and political instability. However, this did not stop the Finnish entrepreneurs; their long-term and irreproachable work helped them overcome all obstacles and brought them to a leading position in St. Petersburg. In our city, there are nearly one thousand foreign-capital enterprises. These businesses employ a quarter-million residents and their turnover is close to a trillion (970.7 billion rubles). Finnish businesses account for a large percentage of this figure. Today, Finland is one of the three major trade partners of St. Petersburg. The country is a major investor in our city’s economy and a leading country in terms of the number of companies operating in St. Petersburg. In 2013, trade with Finland reached $3.5 billion. Finland is the third largest trading partner of St. Petersburg. In St. Petersburg, most of the existing enterprises are small and medium-sized businesses. A similar situation obtains in Europe in general and in Finland in particular. Our governments attach great importance to supporting small and medium-sized enterprises as they are a major support for sustainable economic development. Often, the problems that come with implementation of the projects of small and medium-sized enterprises and their solutions are of common nature for both Russia and Finland. It is therefore very relevant and timely to hold such events as today’s own. I want to express my confidence that our cooperation with Finland will continue to be fruitful and successful. St. Petersburg has always been a city open to everyone and we invite everyone for a mutually beneficial cooperation”.
The Group of Finnish Advisors to the Governor of St. Petersburg presented a joint project with the Committee for Entrepreneurship and Consumer Market Development of St. Petersburg. The joint project titled “White Paper on Entrepreneurship. How to Promote Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Russia and Finland” included suggestions on how to improve bilateral cooperation in the field of supporting small and medium-sized businesses.
Elgiz Kachaev, Chairman of the Committee for Entrepreneurship and Consumer Market Development of St. Petersburg:
“Small and medium-sized enterprises play a huge role in the economic development of many countries as they not only help in solving unemployment problems but also improve production efficiency by stimulating competition. Finland and Russia have developed a long tradition of cooperation in various areas of joint activity thanks to a common history and geography. Finland’s geographical location, its proximity to Russia and location on the shores of the Baltic Sea have created all the prerequisites for fruitful development. Russia’s share in the trade turnover of Finland for the past year reached almost 14% at rates over 11% in Germany and Sweden. Today we are witnessing an obvious rise in interest among the business circles of our countries to expand mutual contacts. Business missions of Russian regions, enterprises and organizations in Finland are organized permanently in the area of telecommunications, computer technology, energy efficiency, resource conservation, medical technology and pharmaceutics. The Finnish business community is also highly active in their cooperation with Russian regions. In St. Petersburg, there are organizations that form the infrastructure of small and medium-sized enterprises, working directly with employers and assisting in finding potential contractors, partners and markets. For example, the Euro Info Correspondence Centre – St. Petersburg was created under the St. Petersburg Foundation for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises as a regional representative of the European business information network Euro Info Centres to provide information and consulting support on interregional and international cooperation for small and medium enterprises in St. Petersburg. The Centre operates as a “single window” on issues related to development of interregional and international activities of small and medium-sized enterprises in St. Petersburg. Measures aimed at supporting export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises are implemented as an integrated package of activities under a common brand called “5 Steps To Exports”. It should also be noted that for nearly three years now, the first urban business incubator of St. Petersburg is actively cooperating with the Small Business Center of the Helsinki School of Economics, Aalto University, on issues concerning the entrance of Russian entrepreneurs into the Finnish market. A working group of our Committee, which seeks to improve the business climate for customs administration, are, in my opinion, effectively working as part of the activities of the city Headquarters For The Reduction Of Administrative Barriers aimed at reducing administrative barriers. Today, we are actively negotiating the issue of reducing unjustified costs for the services of stevedoring companies connected with excessive control by customs authorities, by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) and bythe Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being (Rospotrebnadzor). We are also solving the problem of long-term clearance of goods at city customs terminals caused by lack of coordinated action by business, federal and regional authorities. Hopefully, the White Paper on Entrepreneurship drafted for the development of Russian-Finnish economic relations will allow more efficient use of the potentials of our countries”.
Maxim Meyksin, Chairman, St Petersburg Committee for Industrial Policy and Innovation:
“The level of cooperation that exists today between our regions is quite high. Our regions cannot compete with countries in Southeast Asia in terms of production of large-circulation products, but we have the opportunity to develop cooperation in those areas where a high level of competence is required. First of all, the promising area includes support for innovative start-ups, creation of joint centres of excellence, R&D and engineering centres. The second is development of subcontracting. I believe that we have very serious prospects, and taking into account our mutual desire, I am sure we will make it”.
Andrew Bloom, Coordinator of the Group of Finnish Advisors to the Governor of St. Petersburg; CEO, Eurofacts:
“This white paper provides an analysis of the difficulties faced by an entrepreneur. Besides, it is a good example of public-private partnership. Today, we are faced with the task of further developing the Russian-Finnish business”.
In general, the roundtable participants agreed that annual cooperation between Finland and St. Petersburg is increasing and now the main task is to maintain this growth both at the government level and at the business level. There are presently a number of events and platforms under which entrepreneurs from Finland and St. Petersburg could reach cooperation agreements. These are international economic and innovative forums, St Petersburg International Partneriat and others. Moreover, the Group of Finnish Advisors to the Governor of St. Petersburg proposed the St Petersburg International Partneriat to be held in regions in Finland.
During the event, there were discussions and exchange of views with representatives from the St. Petersburg City Administration, regions of Finland (South Karelia, Southern Savonia, city of Turku), business and academic community of St. Petersburg and Turku, diplomatic missions, associations and organizations for the support of business development in St. Petersburg and Finland.