Finnish-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation to discuss energy efficiency and cooperation in education

The Finnish-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will meet in Kyiv on 18 September 2018. Under-Secretary of State for External Economic Relations Markku Keinänen and Ukraine's Minister of Education and Science Liliia Hrynevych will chair the meeting, which will look at the economic cooperation between Finland and Ukraine.

The implementation of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between the European Union and Ukraine has started to bear fruit, boosting also the trade between Finland and Ukraine. In 2017, Finland's exports to Ukraine grew by 15 per cent, its volume exceeding EUR 199 million. Imports from Ukraine to Finland grew by 40 per cent, amounting to nearly EUR 106 million. Free trade, Ukraine's improving economy and reforms together with international financial institutions' activities make Ukraine an interesting and geographically close export market for Finland.

Approximately a hundred Finnish companies have business activities in Ukraine's market. The value of Finland's direct investments is EUR 122 million. In Ukraine, there would be demand for Finnish expertise among others in agriculture, information technology, energy supply, waste management, health care, harbour infrastructure, and education.

Since 2014, Finland has supported Ukraine by over EUR 37 million. The support has consisted of development cooperation, humanitarian assistance, and technical expertise. We have allocated an additional EUR 15 million for development cooperation in 2018–2021. The support will focus on the education sector and energy efficiency. Finland is participating in Ukraine's school reform and has seconded a Finnish education expert to the Support Group for Ukraine (SGUA) in Brussels, and a Special Adviser on Education has been posted to strengthen the Finnish Embassy in Kyiv. We also support the Finland-Ukraine Trust Fund for Energy Efficiency, set up by the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO). Finland has over 20 observers in the OSCE's Special Monitoring Mission (SMM).

Inquiries:  Tuomas Kinnunen, Desk Officer for Ukraine, Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tel. +358 295 350 054.