Minister Puisto to visit the United Arab Emirates, Zambia and South Africa
Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs Sakari Puisto will visit the United Arab Emirates, Zambia and South Africa from 2 to 10 February 2026. The purpose of the visit is to promote exports of Finnish companies and to strengthen Finland’s role in the mineral value chains.
Minister of Economic Affairs Puisto will start his trip in the United Arab Emirates on 2–3 February and attend the World Governments Summit 2026 in Dubai. During the visit, he will participate in a panel discussion on investments and economic resilience issues. He will meet representatives of the country’s government and businesses to discuss ways to promote trade and investments and to improve cooperation between the two countries.
Minister Puisto will visit Zambia from 4 to 7 February and meet several Zambian Government ministers and representatives of the mining sector. The meetings will discuss Zambia’s business environment and the regulation, infrastructure and digitalisation of the mining sector. Representatives of Finnish companies will attend some of the meetings. While in Zambia, Minister Puisto will travel to the country’s northwest to visit mining areas where Finnish companies are leading suppliers of mining technologies and solutions. The programme for the visit will also include events to bring together Finnish companies and Zambian stakeholders.
On 7–10 February, Minister Puisto will travel to South Africa, where he will attend Mining Indaba, a major international mining conference taking place in Cape Town. The programme includes a ministerial symposium for mining ministers, and several meetings. Minister Puisto will deliver an opening address at an investment seminar jointly hosted by the EU and South Africa and participate in networking events that convene Finnish companies.
Inquiries:
Lars Aikala, Special Adviser to the Minister of Economic Affairs, tel. +35850 354 9264 (during the trip)
Maria Westerholm, Chief Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 29 504 8311 (regarding the visit to the United Arab Emirates)
Teo Kangaspunta, Chief Specialist, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, tel. +358 50 4795815 (regarding the visits to Zambia and South Africa)