Finland, Sweden to deepen bio-economy cooperation

Prime Minister JuhaSipilä and his Swedish counterpart Stefan Löfven on Friday agreed to deepen cooperation in bio-economy.

The two prime ministers met in Stockholm and took part in Finland’s centenary celebrations where they also discussed topical EU matters and talked about foreign and security policy, said a government press release.

The initiative to deepen bio-economic cooperation aims to boost efficiency in operations in both the countries.

Finland and Sweden are the most tree-filled countries in the EU, and they also have many interests in common.

“We are going to deepen cooperation for example by sharing best practices in wood construction. We also intend to jointly promote work in bioenergy, research, development and innovation in the product development phase and to obtain EU funding for this work. We aim to further strengthen our two countries’ good cooperation in the EU especially by highlighting how important forests are combatting in climate change,” said Sipilä.

Sipilä expressed his thanks to Sweden for recognising how important the LULUCF legislation that is currently being deliberated in the EU is for a sustainable forest economy and bio-economy in Finland.

“Finland and Sweden both speak up strongly for the right to continue to use their forests ecologically in the future too. We still have much work to do in the EU. Together we are stronger in this matter too,” Sipilä observed.

The premiers also discussed other issues such as migration, the forthcoming financial framework decisions and the EU's common defence policy.

“The current security situation calls for close cooperation between Finland and Sweden in this area too. I’m very pleased that defence cooperation is deepening between our countries both in political and practical terms,” said Sipilä.

“Our two countries are in one mind about influence through information. We are also subject to the same threats to some extent. I hold in high regard Sweden’s active role in establishing in Helsinki the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats,” he said.

Both the prime ministers attended a city festival in the Kungsträdgården marketplace and park areas. The three-day STHLM/SUOMI city festival is the biggest jubilee year public festival outside Finland.

The prime ministers spoke at the unveiling of Finnish artist Marja Kanervo’s sculpture in Engelbrektsplan in the heart of Stockholm. It is part of the “Two countries – one future” project, where public sculptures will be placed in the capital cities of Finland and Sweden to testify how closely the two countries interact.

“In the future, those who are willing to bravely engage and have a say are the ones who will cope; those who work on the principles of constructive cooperation and interaction; those with a value base and faith in the future that are strong enough; those who know where their roots are but have the courage to reach for the skies. Together we are more than the sum of our parts. And today, it is a message that we need to voice more than ever before,” said Sipilä at the programme.