Reform of Team Finland’s foreign functions proceeds

The operations and management of the Team Finland network will be reformed in cooperation with business and industry, as outlined in the Finnish Government Programme. Business Finland’s foreign functions will be directly integrated into the structures of the Foreign Service by 1 January 2026.

The ministerial working group on employment and entrepreneurship decided on integrating the foreign functions of Business Finland into the Foreign Service on 14 June 2024. In June 2024, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment appointed Rapporteur Elina Björklund to prepare the integration of functions. Björklund and the working group formed to support her completed their work in January 2025. The rapporteur’s report contained comprehensive recommendations for implementing the reform.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio says that the Foreign Ministry will act on the report’s recommendations to emphasise customer orientation and to strengthen political guidance and the role of business and industry. The ministry will also examine export promotion efforts more closely in terms of goal-setting and measuring.

Business Finland’s foreign functions will be directly integrated into the structures of the Foreign Service, as this will provide the best platform for cooperation and systematic management. The integration is a way to respond to challenges posed by the transformation of geoeconomics and international competition. Integrating the two foreign networks and building a united team will reduce bureaucracy and enhance export promotion.

“Team Finland functions will be carried out as teamwork in future, too. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Business Finland have a great deal to learn from one another, and together we can offer even better services to Finnish companies. Seamless cooperation between all Team Finland partners plays a key role,” says Minister Tavio.

The reform will not transfer all export promotion functions from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The domestic functions will remain the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

The implementation of integration will now begin under the leadership of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Deputy Director General of the Department for International Trade, Juha Pyykkö, will act as the director of integration. During the transition phase, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will purchase Business Finland’s foreign network’s export promotion services as a bridge solution. The final integration will be completed by 1 January 2026.