Summit addresses competitiveness in the Baltic Sea region
Press release 429/2006
26 October, 2006
About 500 business representatives, politicians, researchers, civil servants, and journalists will meet at the Baltic Development Forum Summit in Helsinki on 29–31 October 2006. The event is being organised by Baltic Development Forum in cooperation with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the City of Helsinki.
The main theme of the summit is “Competing on Top of Europe – The Baltic Sea Region in the Global Playing Field”. The event will involve discussion of currents issues related to the Baltic Sea region and visions for the future. Tarja Halonen, President of Finland, and Valentina Matvienko, Governor of the City of St. Petersburg, will be among those giving opening addresses at the event on Sunday 29 October.
The Baltic Development Forum Summit is an annual event that gathers influential speakers and participants from all Baltic countries. This year, the speakers include Prime Minister of Finland Matti Vanhanen, Prime Minister of Estonia Andrus Ansip, Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Maud Olofsson, Foreign Minister of Sweden Carl Bildt, and Commissioner Danuta Hübner. The Helsinki Summit being held at Marina Congress Center is the 8th Baltic Development Forum Summit and an official event related to Finland’s EU Presidency.
The actual Summit days of Monday and Tuesday 30–31 October will see discussion involving numerous expert panels. Pertti Torstila, State Secretary at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, will participate in the Monday morning discussion of new policy concerning the Northern Dimension. Paula Lehtomäki, Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade and Development, will address trade policy themes in relation to Northwest Russia and Kaliningrad in her speech on Tuesday.
Other topics at the Summit include tourism, integration of finance markets, transportation and logistics, promoting innovations, research, and education as well as branding the Baltic Sea in global competition.
Further information: Head of Unit Maimo Henriksson, Unit for the Northern Dimension, tel. +358 (0)40 527 3821, and Counsellor Juha Markkanen, Department for Communication and Culture, tel. +358 (0)40 520 3925, Ministry for Foreign Affairs