MFA: Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari to visit Portugal

In Lisbon, Minister Skinnari will have meetings, for example, with Minister of State for the Economy and the Digital Transition Pedro Siza Vieira, Minister of Environment and Energy Transition João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education Manuel Heitor and Secretary of State for Internationalization Eurico Brilhante Dias. The discussions will focus on the key priorities of the Portuguese recovery plan, including bioeconomy and circular economy, opportunities for cooperation related to the energy, climate and digital transitions, and topical trade policy and development policy questions.

Skinnari will also meet representatives of the Portuguese business sector and Finnish companies operating in Portugal.

During the visit, a Finnish innovation platform Demola Global Oy together with the Government of Portugal and Portuguese universities of applied sciences will launch a comprehensive cooperation project. The aim of the project is to accelerate future innovation work and strengthen interaction between the higher education sector and business life. In the start-up phase (2021–2023), almost a thousand higher education teachers, approximately 600 Portuguese companies and about 5,000 students from 14 different universities of applied sciences from Portugal will take part in the project.

“It is important for us to be able to present Finnish expertise widely in Portugal right in the early stages of the implementation of the country’s recovery plan. Finland and Finnish companies have much to offer especially in how to strengthen resilience and to proceed in the transition to climate neutrality and in digital transformation. These themes are at the heart of both the Finnish and Portuguese recovery plans,” says Minister Skinnari.

Inquiries:

Juha Niemi, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, tel. + 358 50 478 1387
Nicola Lindertz, Director, tel. +358 295 350 316

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