Prime Minister Orpo: Finland should become a world‑class growth platform for technology companies

On Thursday 26 March, the Economic Council led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo held a conference on economic growth in an age of disruption.

In his opening address, Prime Minister Orpo noted that the return to great-power politics has destabilised the old world order. At the same time, we are living in a period of technological disruption. 

Finland’s ability to influence the international situation is limited, but Orpo stressed that when it comes to boosting growth, we need to focus on what is in our own hands. 

In his speech, Prime Minister Orpo highlighted the need to make Finland a world-class growth platform for technology companies. 

“Innovative, ambitious companies attract talent, build ecosystems and create wealth. And that wealth stays in the national economy. Finland has already shown, with the LUMI supercomputer and the upcoming LUMI AI Factory, that we can offer a cost‑effective and energy‑efficient environment for high‑performance computing and AI development,” Orpo said.

The ongoing technological disruption also raises concerns about the loss of jobs and the need for new skills.  

“In a country that leads in AI, AI skills are also a basic civic skill that belongs to everyone. As a society, we must invest in this. We must turn AI from a source of worry into an asset,” Orpo said.

The keynote speech at the event was delivered by one of the world’s leading researchers of economic growth, Philippe Aghion, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2025.

According to Aghion, Finland has everything it takes to be a key player in accelerating economic growth in Europe. He sees Finland’s education system as a particular strength.

In his speech, Aghion highlighted the need to combine the advantages of the American and European economic models. For Aghion, the key elements of productivity and economic growth are innovation, education and a strong safety net that means people can afford to fail.

Inquiries: Pekka Sinko, Secretary General of the Economic Council, tel. +358 295 160 189, and Aapo Riihimäki, Head of Communications, tel. +358 50 594 6061, Prime Minister’s Office 

The email addresses of the Finnish Government are in the format [email protected]