MFA: Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Mykkänen to visit Tanzania and Kenya

MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
http://formin.finland.fi/english

Press release 216/2016
14 November 2016

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Mykkänen to visit Tanzania and Kenya

Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen will visit Tanzania and Kenya on 14–19 November 2016. The two countries are Finland’s long-term partners in development cooperation but now they are hoping for more investments and trade with Finland. The Minister will be accompanied by a delegation of 24 Finnish companies and organisations.

“Trade will not replace development aid but without a strong input from the private sector there is a risk that the UN global sustainable development goals will not be reached. Finland will devote particular attention to reinforcing the private sector in the partner countries because that will create new jobs, tax revenue and sustainable solutions to energy, water and other basic necessities,” Mykkänen says.

The Finnish delegation will have the opportunity to showcase their solutions to ministers and state institutions in the two host countries.

In Tanzania Mykkänen will also attend a forestry investment conference and inaugurate a central control room for electricity supply built in Finnish-Tanzanian cooperation. The Minister will also open a geospatial business event organised by the universities of Turku and Dar es Salaam. In Kenya Mykkänen will attend three events dealing with clean energy, water as well as construction and architecture. In both countries the Minister will also visit Finland’s development cooperation projects.

“Tanzania and Kenya are among the biggest economies in East Africa with an annual growth rate of 4–7%. Kenya has succeeded in becoming a lower middle income economy, while Tanzania still has the lowest income level. The business environment has improved in both countries partly as a result of development aid. As an old development cooperation partner, Finland has good opportunities to increase trade in the East African market of 170 million consumers,” Mykkänen says.

The visit is organised together with Finpro, which is part of Team Finland.

The companies and organisations in the Minister’s Team Finland delegation represent Finnish expertise in forestry, energy, cleantech, water, architecture and geospatial technologies.

The following companies and organisations will be represented in the Minister’s delegation:

Aalto University
Adult Education Centre Kouvola
Aquazone Oy
Arbonaut Ltd
Architects Office/Arkkitehtitoimisto Ponkala Oy
AUD Office for Architecture and Urban Design Ltd
Eltel Networks Oy
Fimatec Oy
Finnish Agri-Agency for Food and Forest Development
Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd. (FINNFUND)
Finnish Water Forum
Finnvera Plc
Geological Survey of Finland
Indufor Oy
Kepa, Finnish NGO platform
KPA Unicon Oy
MAFI Oy
NIRAS Finland
Sigge Architects
Solar Water Solutions
Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation/BEAM
University of Turku
Valmet Technologies Oy
Vionice Ltd
Wärtsila Netherlands B.V.

Inquiries: Heini Pulli, Team Leader (Kenya), tel. +358 50 431 7613, Matti Tervo, Desk Officer (Tanzania), tel. +358 40 132 1308, Unit for Eastern and Western Africa, and Pasi Rajala, Special Adviser to Minister Mykkänen, tel. +358 400 464 393.

The Foreign Ministry's email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.