Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lehtomäki to depart on an export promotion trip to Kazakhstan

Press release 2/2007
3 January, 2007

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paula Lehtomäki will make an export promotion trip to Kazakhstan on 8-11 January. The Minister will be accompanied by a business delegation of 40 people consisting of, for instance, experts of industry manufacturing machinery and equipment, healthcare, food industry and export financing. The business delegation will be chaired by Tapani Järvinen, Executive Vice President of Outokumpu Technology.

The purpose of the visit is to present Finnish know-how to authorities and companies of Kazakhstan and to gather first-hand information about the development prospects of Kazakhstan. In Kazakhstan, Lehtomäki will have discussions with, for instance, Prime Minister Danial Ahmetov and Minister of Industry and Trade Vladimir Shkolnik. In addition to exploring the opportunities for economic and trade cooperation, the other topics to be discussed in the meetings at the ministerial level will include the bilateral relations between the countries, relations between the EU and Kazakhstan, current WTO affairs, and the regional situation of Central Asia. During the trip Lehtomäki will open Finpro's offices in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Minister Lehtomäki will also visit Kyrgyzstan accompanied by a civil servant delegation on 11 January. One of the objectives of the visit is to get acquainted with the prevention project of lung diseases which the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been financing for four years with a total of 2.21 million euros. During her visit, Lehtomäki will meet Foreign Minister Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov and Minister of Health Shailoobek Nijazov.

Additional information: Counsellor Tuula Yrjölä, Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tel. +358 9 1605 5604, and Special Adviser to the Minister Satu Mäki, tel. +358 9 1605 6306