Finnish-Czech Relations Helena Tuuri, Ambassador of Finland to the Czech Republic

Finnish-Czech relations: overview Political relations between our countries are good and we have many shared interests. But, there is also room to further deepen our relations We have common views on the EU and the importance of its unity Both countries are friends of free trade and support the development of the internal market Both countries are very much export oriented – the Czech Republic even more than Finland Historical unity: the next two years mark the centenaries of both independent Finland and Czechoslovakia Cultural unity: strong ice hockey nations! 28.11.2016

Trade relations: overview The volume of trade between our countries is on the rise (2014: 963 MEUR, 2015: 1 035,7 MEUR) Since the financial crisis the trade has strongly favoured Czech exports Over 100 Finnish companies operate in the Czech Republic. Some dozen of them also have production in the Czech Republic The biggest players operate in the industries of IT services, engineering, construction, manufacturing, chemicals, industrial machinery and consumer products 28.11.2016

Trade relations: overview Finnish exports to the Czech Republic are dominated by the products of paper, steel and chemical industries Important Czech exports to Finland include cars, television and radio equipment, industrial machinery and iron and steel 28.11.2016

Trade between Finland and the Czech Republic FI-CZ trade 2014 (million €) 2015 (million €) Change (million €) Change % FI export 266 281 15 5,6 FI import 697 755 58 8,3 FI trade balance -431 -474 43 9,9 28.11.2016

Recent examples of co-operation The Czech construction company Metrostav is one of the contractors of the Western expansion of the Helsinki metro Škoda Transportation purchased the majority of shares of a Finnish railway manufacturer in 2015 28.11.2016

Potential sectors for future co-operation The most promising sectors include education, energy and the environment (cleantech) and ICT Finnish consumer goods and design products have concrete opportunities in the Czech Republic Our countries’ further investments in nuclear power could create new business opportunities for both in this field 28.11.2016

Why Finland and the Czech Republic are natural trading partners Common market Only one hour time difference Relatively short distance between the countries Same kind of perception of quality 28.11.2016

Thank you for your attention! 28.11.2016