Finland-Turkey JETCO signed, collaboration in green transition and digitalization discussed during Minister Skinnari’s visit to Turkey

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Mr. Ville Skinnari visited Ankara and Istanbul on June 6–8 with the business delegation of 19 companies from Finland.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Mr. Ville Skinnari visited Ankara and Istanbul on June 6–8. Last year’s increase in the trade between Finland and Turkey by 24 percent raised the volume of their trade to a record high of EUR two billion. Minister Skinnari aimed at strengthening trade relations and promoting deeper economic cooperation between the two countries in the fields of digitalization and the green transition.

“Green transition and digitalization are of great importance to both Finland and Turkey. In addition, the record numbers in the volume of trade between the countries enhance confidence in the Team Finland network’s objective of doubling the bilateral trade from 2020 to three billion euros by 2024,” Minister Skinnari stated.

In Ankara on June 6, Minister Skinnari’s delegation held meetings with Mr. Mustafa Varank, Minister of Industry and Technology, and Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Vice Minister of Transport and Infrastructure. In addition, Minister Skinnari joined a session on International Financing Institutions’ funding and financing opportunities together with representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Turkish MFA Directorate for EU Affairs, and TÜBITAK (Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey).


 

In Istanbul on June 7, Business Finland and the Embassy of Finland in Ankara with the support of DEIK organized the Finland-Turkey Business Seminar at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus, followed by breakout sessions on the construction, energy, ICT, steel, and textile sectors in the afternoon. During the seminar, Minister Skinnari joined a lively panel discussion with Ms. Marika Ollaranta, Head of Decarbonizing Industries, RRF, Business Finland; Mr. Halil Kulluk, Chair, DEIK Türkiye-Finland Business Council; Mr. Serkan Valandova, Secretary General, YASED; and Mr. Ahmet Saygin Baban, Head of Industry Councils and Entrepreneurship Department, TOBB. 


 

Also on June 7, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu met with Minister Skinnari to discuss city-to-city level collaboration and exchange of best practices. Koç Holding CEO Mr. Levent Çakıroğlu and executives received the Ministeri’s delegation to discuss digitalization and sustainability cooperation agenda between Finland and Turkey, as well as the importance of the work that Finland and Koç Holding are doing as co-leaders in UN’s Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality. 


 

In the evening, Ambassador Ari Mäki hosted a networking reception among industry leaders at the Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus ballroom where Minister Skinnari addressed the guests. Mr. Röstem Hairedin, the newly minted chair of the Finland Turkey Business Guild also shared his vision for strengthening the business relations between the two countries.

On June 8, Minister Skinnari joined Turkish Minister of Trade Dr. Mehmet Muş to sign the first Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO) protocol between Turkey and Finland, followed by a business roundtable meeting. Rounding out the busy program was a visit to the WIN EURASIA 5G Arena where NOKIA was one of the event partners, highlighting industrial use cases of 5G. 


 

The business delegation included 19 companies: Advion Solutions Oy, BE Group Oy, Betolar Oyj, Bogaletin Oy/Bogaletin Logistics, Fortum Bio2X, Oy Halton Group Ltd, Hycamite TCD Technologies Ltd, Infinited Fiber Company Oy, KONE, Lahti Region Development Company LADEC Ltd, Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto Oy, Luxmet Oy, Merus Power Oy, Nokia, Nordic Bioproducts Group, Nurminen Logistics Services Oy, Omnitele, Sapotech Oy, SFTec Oy.