PM for more economic ties with Germany

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo on Friday said Germany is a vital economic, political and security partner of Finland and emphasised to develop further economic relations between the countries.

“As a like-minded country, Germany is a vital economic, political and security partner for Finland. Relations between our two countries are, and will continue to be, excellent,” said the Premier at a joint press conference after a meeting with Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz in Berlin.

Orpo also highlighted opportunities for Finland and Germany to further develop economic relations terming Germany as Finland’s most important trading partner, said a government press release.

Their meeting focused on European security and on developing trade and economic relations between Finland and Germany.

They discussed about strengthening Europe's defence industry and about Europe’s Common Security and Defence Policy in general. They also discussed Russia and unwavering support for Ukraine.

“With Finland and Sweden in NATO, the Baltic Sea Region will be more secure than it has been in a long time. We will support Ukraine in their justified fight for as long as it takes. We will also make this message clear at the EU level. We want to build a stronger and more globally active European Union. This is the only way to continue to guarantee European prosperity in the future,” Orpo said.

He said that Finland and Germany have major shared interests when it comes to the energy transition and hydrogen economy and Finland has relevant technological expertise and is a good investment environment in these areas.

“We also have expertise, clean nature and a great deal of space. We are a stable and safe country. Clean energy investments will enable us to effectively combat climate change, create jobs, boost the economy and phase out Russian fossil energy all at the same time,” the Prime Minister added.