Prime Minister Orpo to visit the United Arab Emirates
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will visit the United Arab Emirates on 13–15 January. The United Arab Emirates is a significant geopolitical player in the Gulf region. In addition to economic relations, the visit aims to promote political dialogue between the two countries. This year marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Finland.
The programme for Prime Minister Orpo’s visit will include a keynote speech at Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The international event will give Finland an opportunity to boost its global visibility as an innovative, highly skilled and responsible partner in the field of sustainable development and technology.
The United Arab Emirates is a regional hub for trade, finance, tourism and logistics in the Middle East. As the seventh-largest oil producer in the world, the UAE is working to diversify its economy, and its ambitious goals offer significant trade opportunities for Finnish businesses. Trade between Finland and the United Arab Emirates has grown considerably in recent years, and the United Arab Emirates is the largest destination for Finnish exports in the Gulf and Middle East region. Prime Minister Orpo will be accompanied on his visit by a business delegation put together by Business Finland.
“Finland has top-level expertise in many areas the UAE wants to promote. There is a great deal of growth potential in areas such as new technologies and digitalisation, the circular economy, the built environment and infrastructure, clean energy production, education and healthcare,” Prime Minister Orpo said ahead of the visit.
Prime Minister Orpo will also meet with several ministers working with key themes related to the trade mission.
The delegation accompanying Prime Minister Orpo on the visit was put together by Business Finland and consists of representatives from the following companies and associations:
Aalto University Executive Education Ltd, Betolar Plc, Caprice Ltd, Creowave Ltd, Education House Finland Ltd, EduCluster Finland Ltd, Finnvera Plc, Fintraffic Air Navigation Services Ltd, Finland Chamber of Commerce, KONE Corporation, Mirasys VMS Ltd, Nestor Cables Ltd, Nokia Corporation, Nurminen Logistics Plc, Nuuka Solutions Ltd, Patria ISP Ltd, ReOrbit Ltd, Riverrecycle Ltd, Tampere University Foundation, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Temet Group Ltd, TopForge Ltd, Unikie Ltd, VETQA Finland/Omnia Education Partnerships Ltd, Wärtsilä Corporation and Xiphera Ltd.
During his visit, Prime Minister Orpo will also inaugurate the new premises of the Embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi.
Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 978 and Anne Sjöholm, Head of Communications for EU and International Affairs, tel. +358 40 537 07 33