Minister Lehtomäki will visit Slovenia and Croatia
Press release 144/2005
4 May, 2005
Paula Lehtomäki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, will visit Slovenia and Croatia on 9-12 May with a Finnish business delegation. The purpose of the visit is to deepen bilateral relations and promote trade between the countries as Finland's EU presidency draws nearer.
Slovenia became an EU member in May last year. Therefore one of the main issues at the meetings of Minister Lehtomäki is EU cooperation. In Slovenia Minister Lehtomäki will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs Dimitrij Rupel, Permanent Secretary of EU Marcel Koprol, Minister of Commerce Andrej Vizjak and Science and Technology Minister Jure Zupan. The discussions will focus on current EU and trade issues.
Croatia became a candidate for EU membership in June 2004 but at the moment country's membership negotiations are put on hold. The European Union is nevertheless the main theme during Minister Lehtomäki's visit. She will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs and EU Integration Minister Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polancec who is also Minister of Economy, Minister Bozidar Kalmeta responsible for sea, tourism, traffic and development issues and Environment, Planning and Building Minister Marina Matulovic-Dropulic. Discussions will deal with the membership candidacy of Croatia and other current EU affairs. Economic and trade relations between Finland and Croatia are also expected to feature in the discussions.
Minister Lehtomäki is accompanied by a Finnish business delegation consisting of 15 members. They represent different sectors of the Finnish industry such as forestry, chemical and defence industries as well as tourism. Major projects in infrastructure have recently been launched in Slovenia and Croatia which may offer new business opportunities for Finnish corporations. Slovenia and Croatia offer also an excellent bridgehead for the growing markets on the Western Balkans.
Additional information: Director Kai Sauer at the Department for Europe, tel. + 358 9 1605 5748, First Secretary Johanna Birkstedt, tel. + 358 9 1605 6037 and Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Satu Mäki, mobile tel. + 358 40 829 3298