Future of the Baltic Sea region discussed in Hamina
A Conference on the Future of the Baltic Sea Region will be organised in Hamina on 27 and 28 August to discuss the new role of the area in Europe. The two-day expert conference will focus on long-term economic growth potential, the growing role of the Baltic Sea in future energy security arrangements, and the ecological state of the sea that demands immediate supranational solutions. This expert forum organised in cooperation by the Year 1809 Project, the Town of Hamina and Centrum Balticum will attract representatives from most countries in the Baltic Sea region.
The European Commission has recently adopted its own Baltic Sea Strategy which is the first regional strategy for the EU. The Strategy is to be adopted by EU Member States during the autumn 2009 under the Swedish Presidency of the EU. In the light of the EU Baltic Sea Strategy, the Hamina conference will discuss the region’s potential to become a new type of major subarea in Europe.
Friday focuses on safety and security
On Friday, 28 August, the conference will address questions relating to security and safety in the Baltic Sea region. The role of security themes is increasing especially as the importance of the comprehensive concept of security grows. The presentations on Friday focus also on safety at sea.
About a hundred invited experts from the Baltic Sea region have arrived in Hamina to hear presentations of well-known specialists of various fields. On Thursday, the two-day conference will be opened by the Vice Chair of the Year 1809 Project, Member of Parliament Eero Heinäluoma and it will be concluded by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen on Friday, 28 August.
The conference commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Treaty of Hamina, a peace treaty signed between Sweden and Russia on 17 September 1809 marking a turning point in the history of the Finnish nation. The conference is organised as part of Year 1809 events.
Further information: Seppo Härkönen, Special Representative for the Year 1809 Project, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 9 160 22366