Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Mari Kiviniemi signed an agreement about protection of investments between Finland And Zambia
7 September, 2005
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Mari Kiviniemi signed in a function organised in Helsinki today an agreement concerning promotion and protection of investments between Finland and Zambia. For Zambia the agreement was signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hon. Davison Mulela.
Through the agreement Finland aims at securing the operational conditions for the investments of Finnish trade and industry in Zambia. The agreement guarantees that Finnish investments are not discriminated against in relation to the country’s own investments or investments made by third countries, and it enhances stability and predictability of the investment environment. Besides trying to promote and protect the Finnish investments, Finland also aims at contributing to the development of the Zambian economy, and seeks to promote the respect of international standards in working life, improve the social conditions, and advance environmental protection in the country.
When signing the agreement, Minister Kiviniemi expressed her satisfaction that the agreement could be signed quite soon after Finland and Zambia had agreed to launch the negotiations in their cooperation talks held in May 2004.
Kiviniemi pointed out that direct foreign investments are an important part of sustainable economic development. At the same as she was underscoring the particular importance of direct foreign investments for development countries, Kiviniemi pointed out that Finland is also working actively to attract direct foreign investments to our own country.
Finland has signed agreements concerning promotion and protection of investments with 51 countries. The African countries with which Finland has a valid or negotiated agreement include Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, Ethiopia, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Tunisia.
Finnish transactions and relations with Zambia are mainly based on development cooperation. Finnish exports to Zambia amounted to approx. 8.1 million euros last year, and they mainly included machinery and equipment for transportation and special industries. Correspondingly, Finland imported from Zambia mainly sugar, sugar products and honey, coffee, tea, and spices for the total of approx. 13.9 million euros. However, the advances made in the structural reform of the Zambian economy and regional integration (Southern African Development Community, SADC and Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA), and the country’s rich, unused natural resources and diversifying agriculture are together creating totally new investment potential in the country.
Additional information: Commercial Counsellor Kimmo Sinivuori, tel. +358 9 1605 6167, [email protected]