The meeting was of ceremonial nature; it was connected with the termination of the Consul General of Finland in St. Petersburg.
The meeting was of ceremonial nature; it was connected with the termination of the Consul General of Finland in St. Petersburg.
During the meeting, the Governor of St. Petersburg Georgy Poltavchenko thanked Ms. Tulokas for active and productive work in the office of the Consul General of Finland in St. Petersburg and noted a significant contribution of the Consulate to the development of multifaceted cooperation between St. Petersburg and Finland.
The Governor of St. Petersburg stressed that Finland has been and remains one of the most important strategic economic partners for our city. «We are linked by many years of good and active cooperation », – Georgy Poltavchenko said.
Despite the reduction of the trade turnover rates in 2015, the parties noted that the sides are not only interested in cooperation but this interest also increases significantly. We are seeking for the new ways to develop cost-effective bilateral relations. This is evidenced by the working visit of the Minister of Economic Affairs of Finland Mr. O. Rehn to this year's Jubilee Petersburg International Economic Forum.
In addition, there is a successful experience of the Russian-Finnish Partneriat for small and medium-sized businesses in Turku last year. In September 2016 it is planned to conduct the Partneriat in Tampere. The Governor stressed that Partneriat is a platform for creating cost-effective and innovative projects between partners from Russia and Finland.
Ms. Tulokas said that entrepreneurs and businesses in Finland are interested in developing economic cooperation with St. Petersburg and she noted that due to the improvement of the business climate in the city the number of Finnish companies located in St. Petersburg, has increased this year.
The parties confirmed that an important direction is the development of cooperation with the Group of Finnish Advisors, which directly assists the implementation of investment initiatives in St. Petersburg.
The agenda also included environmental issues. In particular, cooperation on the protection of the Gulf of Finland and security at the "Krasny Bor" testing area was discussed.
Photo report on the website of the Government of St. Petersburg: http://gov.spb.ru/press/governor/91934/