Kassym-Jomart Tokayev held a meeting with Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Finland, Co-chairman of the Kazakh-Finnish intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation Ville Skinnari, Ville Skinnari, who arrived in Nur-Sultan on a working visit.
Welcoming the Finnish Minister, President Tokayev indicated that Finland plays very important role in Kazakhstan’s foreign policy towards Northern Europe.
“Finland is number one investor among Northern Europe countries as a top investor. We highly value and appreciate this kind of very active cooperation between Kazakhstan and Finland,” the President said.
The Head of State also spoke in favor of maintaining a regular political dialogue at the highest and highest level. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev conveyed his best wishes to Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and reiterated his invitation to him to visit Kazakhstan.
In turn, Ville Skinnari thanked Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for the opportunity to meet, and emphasized that as a Minister paying his first foreign visit to Kazakhstan since the pandemic started. He also conveyed warm greetings to Kassym-Jomart Tokayev from the President of Finland.
“Our bilateral relations are excellent. Finland is having the background as independent state for more than 100 years, and Kazakhstan for some 30 years. We believe that now after the COVID-19, it is time to build together the next 30 years. There is very much that Finland and Kazakhstan can do in different fields of politics, but especially I would like to emphasize the importance of trade and investment,” the Finnish Minister said.
Among the priority areas for the implementation of joint projects, President Tokayev named green technologies and the telecommunications industry. He pointed to Kazakhstan’s readiness to provide special preferences for foreign investors and the transfer of Finnish technologies.
Ville Skinnari also mentioned about the importance of relations between the European Union and Kazakhstan, stressing that both sides are very committed to go even further. He also commended Kazakhstan’s commitment to climate change targets, and plans to address environmental issues, the development of agriculture, the food sector, digitalization, and cybersecurity. As he stressed, the Finnish side is ready to support these activities.
In this regard, the importance of boosting the work of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation and its four specialized working groups in the energy, transport, agriculture and education areas was stressed.
President Tokayev and Minister Skinnari also exchanged views on pressing issues of the regional agenda. In particular, they noted the great potential for cooperation in the framework of official development assistance, as well as efforts aimed at countering climate change and strengthening security in Afghanistan.
