Minister Väyrynen: Brazil’s marine and offshore industry offers great potential for Finnish businesses
Press release 292/2009
12 November 2009
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen emphasised the world-class quality of Finnish expertise in offshore and marine technology when he met on Wednesday, 11 November with José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, President and CEO of Petrobrás, the world’s third largest oil company with its headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. Petrobrás has investment plans for 2009–2013 worth a total of USD 175 billion.
“Finnish expertise in the various sectors of the marine cluster meets very high international standards, and many of our companies are world leaders in their field. The investment plans of Petrobrás offer good opportunities for Finnish companies to participate. I consider the meeting with the Petrobrás leadership to be extremely important, and it also reflects Petrobrás’s appreciation for Finnish know-how,” Väyrynen stressed.
The Minister invited Petrobrás leaders to visit Finland so they could become better acquainted with marine cluster businesses and hold more detailed talks on cooperation possibilities.
Forestry sector cooperation also figured prominently in Minister Väyrynen’s discussions with leading Brazilians. Intensification of cooperation pertaining to forest energy was discussed during meetings with representatives of Petrobrás and Empraba, the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation., Finland and Brazil have previously signed a Memorandum pertaining to the sector; it was now agreed that concrete implementation of the Memorandum would be accelerated.
Rio de Janeiro was the last stop of Minister Väyrynen’s export promotion trip to Brazil, which lasted just short of four days. The special focus of the trip was the presentation of Finnish shipbuilding and offshore expertise. These sectors were also high on the agenda in meetings and seminars held both in São Paulo and in Brasília, the nation’s capital. A business delegation of 20 representatives accompanied Minister Väyrynen on his trip.
Additional information: Deputy Director General Pekka Puustinen, mobile tel. +358 40 481 9892 and Päivi Nevala, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 40 753 4375