East Office of Finnish Industries brings together leading Finnish companies with Turkish firms to explore collaboration in Ukraine, Central Asia, and South Caucasus

Leading Finnish companies meet with Turkish firms to explore collaboration possibilities in Ukraine, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus with focus on reconstruction of Ukraine.

In partnership with Turkish Ukrainian Business Association (TUID) and the Embassy of Finland in Ankara, East Office of Finnish Industries brought together leading Finnish companies—Wärtsilä, AINS Group , Elematic, Peikko Group Corporation, Metso, and KONE—with over 20 Turkish firms to explore how we can collaborate in Ukraine, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus.

Earlier this year, East Office had identified the power of combining Finland’s technical expertise with the deep-rooted presence of Turkish contractors in Ukraine. Turkish companies are already playing a key role in Ukraine’s reconstruction, and by partnering with them, Finnish firms can tap into these opportunities more efficiently and strategically.

Ambassador Pirkko Hämäläinen addressed the guests with the following opening message:

Günaydın, good morning dear ladies and gentlemen, it my pleasure to welcome you all to this important event. Today, I would like to share a few thoughts about partnerships. Our gathering today is a wonderful example of the power of partnerships. We have come together with globally leading Finnish technology companies and Turkish contractors to explore business opportunities together.

Today, our focus is on reconstruction of Ukraine, as well as project opportunities in Central Asia and Southern Caucasus.

On Ukraine - Finland as part of the EU strongly condemns Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Finland will continue its unwavering support to Ukraine as long as needed.

Since February 2022, Finland’s total assistance to Ukraine amounts to 3,1 billion euros including defense material support, development cooperation and humanitarian aid, and civilian materiel assistance. At the same, it is crucial that we focus on reconstruction efforts while the war is ongoing, and Turkish contractors have shown their commitments by completing over 70 projects worth more than one billion euro since the war in Ukraine started.

Turkish contractors are of course active globally and regionally, and there is an increased geo-economical focus on Central Asia and Southern Caucasus. Globally, Turkish contractors have completed over half a trillion USD worth of projects in 133 countries – very impressive!

This is why I would like to encourage Finnish companies to be even more active in building the kind of partnerships that we are here to discuss today. Finland on its part is leading the way to a zero-carbon future by boosting sustainable innovations and long-term business opportunities globally. Our objective is to become carbon neutral by 2035.

Finland has high reputation for its strongholds in various fields, including technology, innovation, and sustainability. Finnish expertise could enhance efficiency, reliability, and environmental sustainability to global infrastructure projects.  Finnish companies could contribute advanced solutions in areas such as renewable energy, smart transportation systems, energy efficient buildings, healthcare, water and education.

Our Finnish companies will each present themselves later in the program, which is why I will not take more time away from them. I would like to conclude my message by reiterating that we are here to seek long-term business partnerships between Finnish and Turkish companies – let us work together! With that, I wish everyone an exciting day ahead with plenty of fruitful discussions.