Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet

MFA: Finland and United States announce deeper cooperation on digital empowerment in developing countries

Share
On 19 October, Administrator of the US Agency for International Development Samantha Power and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari announced their dedication to robust collaboration on efforts to advance economic productivity, gender equality and human rights in developing countries through inclusive digitalisation.

At the end of a meeting today in Washington DC, Administrator Samantha Power and Minister Ville Skinnari signed a Statement of Intent to work together to provide policy advice and implementation support to governments, civil society, and the private sector in interested partner countries.

The objective of this cooperation is to accelerate inclusive digital transformation in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, whereby everyone can take advantage of all the benefits and opportunities of an open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystem. 

“We have to put much more effort into making new technologies available to developing countries so that people and businesses can interact, learn and operate more openly and effectively. At the same time, we have to ensure that technology is a means of empowerment and does not affect people’s rights negatively. Finland is happy to put its experience and expertise to global use in partnership with our American colleagues”, Minister Skinnari says.

One of the essential instruments is financing for sustainable business projects. Finnish development financier, Finnfund, has already been making investments for some time in digital infrastructure and solutions in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Finnfund investments improve affordable access to data and digital services in rural areas as well.

“Personally, I am very excited about this new level of partnership we are entering into with USAID, and I commend Administrator Power for her commitment to digital empowerment of especially women in developing countries”, says Skinnari.

Statement of Intent (pdf, 115, 47 Kt)

Inquiries:

Kirsi Airio, Special Adviser, tel. +358 50 574 1729. The email addresses of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi.

Keywords

Links

About Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet

Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet
Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet
Laivastokatu 22, PL 176
00023 Valtioneuvosto

0295 16001http://um.fi

Subscribe to releases from Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Ulkoministeriö / Utrikesministeriet

Utrikesministeriets enkätundersökning: ryssarna förhåller sig negativare till Finland, ungdomarna har positivare inställningar13.10.2023 09:00:00 EEST | Tiedote

Enligt den av Finlands ambassad i Moskva beställda enkätundersökningen förhåller sig en dryg tredjedel av de ryssar som svarade på enkäten positivt till Finland. För ett år sedan uppgav ungefär hälften att de är positiva till Finland. Enligt enkätundersökningen har Finlands rykte försämrats främst av att ryska medier har gett en felaktig och negativ bild av Finlands Natomedlemskap. Ungdomarnas inställningar till Finland är positivare.

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye