Prime Minister Orpo visits Kyoto and Osaka

On Thursday 12 December, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo gave a talk about Finland’s climate action at the University of Kyoto. After the talk, students had the opportunity to ask the Prime Minister questions about the topic. Orpo also paid a visit to the Osaka 2025 Expo grounds, where a joint Nordic pavilion is currently being built. Orpo is the first head of state or government to visit the World Expo grounds.

In his talk, Prime Minister Orpo noted that the fight against climate change is very important to him.

“When I served as Minister of Finance in 2019, I was involved in setting up the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. The coalition has since evolved into a global community that is committed to integrating climate change into economic policy planning. It is also a good example of how a small country can bring about significant global change through cooperation,” Orpo said. Japan joined the coalition in 2021.

Orpo said it felt especially meaningful to be speaking in Kyoto, a place that symbolises the global commitment to fighting climate change.

Among other themes, Orpo told the students about Finland’s measures to increase clean energy production.

“Our clean and efficient electricity system and our reliable, high-quality power grid, combined with highly skilled labour and world-class expertise in a variety of industries, have attracted significant investments to Finland. Two thirds of the planned investments are related to wind power. This shows how attractive a destination Finland is for investments in the clean transition,” Orpo added.

Orpo visits World Expo grounds being built in Osaka

Also on Thursday, Orpo paid a visit to the Osaka 2025 Expo grounds, where a joint Nordic pavilion is currently being built. Japan will host the World Expo in Osaka from 13 April to 13 October 2025. Finland will participate in the World Expo as part of the Nordic Pavilion, which represents the shared values of the Nordic countries, including sustainable development, trust and innovation.

The Nordic Pavilion is expected to attract about 1.7 million visitors during the six-month World Expo. Around 28 million visitors are expected to attend the Expo altogether.

Prime Minister Orpo will meet with representatives of the umbrella organisation for businesses in the Osaka region later on Thursday evening.

Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Prime Minister, tel. +358 295 160 978 and Päivi Paasikoski, Director of Government Communications, tel. +358 40 547 6279, Prime Minister’s Office; Juha Niemi, Deputy Director General, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 350 232; and Suvi Sundquist, Director (North East Asia), Business Finland (business delegation), tel. +81 70 1051 0700 (+7h), firstname.lastname(at)businessfinland.fi

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

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