On December 8 and 9, 2015, Ms. Lenita Toivakka, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, arrived in Tehran heading a major economic delegation comprising 70 representatives of Finnish companies active in such fields as bioeconomy, information technology, clean technologies, construction and urban development. As put by the Finnish minister, the trip was aimed at paving the way for more cooperation between companies from Iran and Finland in various fields of trade and investment, while providing Finland’s economic activists with an opportunity to become familiar with Iran's economic conditions and regulations and also know their future trade partners in this country.
Exclusive
Interview with Lenita Toivakka
Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and
Development
By Mohammad Amin Khorrami
On December
8 and 9, 2015, Ms. Lenita Toivakka, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and
Development, arrived in Tehran heading a major economic delegation comprising
70 representatives of Finnish companies active in such fields as bioeconomy,
information technology, clean technologies, construction and urban development.
As put by the Finnish minister, the trip was aimed at paving the way for more
cooperation between companies from Iran and Finland in various fields of trade
and investment, while providing Finland’s economic activists with an
opportunity to become familiar with Iran's economic conditions and regulations
and also know their future trade partners in this country. This was one of the
biggest economic delegations to have been ever sent by Finland to a foreign
country. Therefore, such issues as the huge inflow of asylum seekers into
Europe as well as the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, both of which have
entangled European countries during recent weeks and months, constituted the
beginning of Hamshahri Daily interview with the Finnish minister. The outlook
of bilateral relations between Tehran and Helsinki, the viewpoint of the Finns
on Iran’s market as well as the issue of the presence of the Iranian women in
the society and the business environment were other issues that were discussed
with Ms. Toivakka.
Q: Syrian
war refugees and asylum seekers that have reached Europe during recent months
are mostly headed for Germany and other wealthy countries in Northern and
Western Europe; Finland is one of these countries. The presence of asylum
seekers in Europe has now turned into a major crisis. How these conditions have
affected on your country?
A: This
is a good question. Let’s under the present circumstances describe these people
as asylum seekers and not refugees. There are specific conditions under which a
person can be known as a refugee and it follow international regulations and
its own definitions. The number of asylum seekers that are present in Finland
has exceeded 35,000 during the current year. The presence of this number of
asylum seekers, of course in terms of per capita population in European
countries, has caused Finland to rank the fourth among European Union members
that are accepting asylum seekers.
This comes
while the number of asylum seekers in our country was about 3,000 up to a year
ago. Therefore, we have been witnessing a sudden rise in the number of asylum
seekers in Finland. This issue, like other European countries, is considered a
major challenge for our country as well. Our government is faced with new
conditions because we must now think about refuge for these people. When their
asylum process is completed, they would need houses as well as suitable
education and vocational conditions. Many sessions have been held within the
Finnish government and we are seeking a solution to get out of these critical
conditions because we want to provide these people, who are running away from
war and conflict, with suitable living conditions. At the same time, I must
mention that not all these people who have entered Finland will be given
residence permits and not all of them will be recognized as refugees.
Q: What is
the final policy of Finland’s government vis-à-vis asylum seekers? Is your
government opposed to presence of asylum seekers in Europe and Finland or
accepts them?
A: We
have taken part in the European Union’s quota program for accepting asylum
seekers and have already taken in our quota. In fact, we have accepted our
share of the responsibility that European countries and the European Union
shoulder in the face of asylum seekers. The approach adopted by our government
to this issue has been a constructive and pragmatic approach since the very
beginning. We are not opposed to entry of asylum seekers, but along with other
members of the European Union, we are trying to find a solution for this
crisis.
Q: We
witnessed terror attacks in the French capital, Paris, quite recently, which
left 130 people dead and more than 350 wounded. Have these attacks had any
social and economic effects on your country and on other European countries in
general?
A: Of
course, these attacks have had extensive social effects on European countries.
I believe that social and psychological effects of this incident have far
outweighed its economic impact; especially the feeling of security among people
living in the European Union countries has been heavily affected by these
attacks. Of course, these attacks have had economic effects as well, especially
in countries like France and Belgium where entry of foreign tourists has fallen
as a result of the terror attacks. In Finland, however, we have not suffered
major economic impacts after the attacks.
Q: The attacks
in Paris were carried out by terrorist forces affiliated with Daesh terrorist
group and some of those forces are said to have entered Europe among asylum
seekers from Syria. This issue has led to sharp positions against the entry of
asylum seekers to Europe. The measures taken by Daesh in Paris, and later on in
the US state of California, have provided some political personalities and
figures in these countries with a good excuse to promote their Islamophobic
agenda. Do you see such conditions in Finland as well?
A: The
recent anti-Islam atmosphere, which directly arises from these incidents, has
given rise to many debates and discussions in Finland as well, both among
ordinary people and among media and even within the government, but an
anti-Islam atmosphere has not taken shape in our country at all. Discussions in
Finland have been mostly focused on how our government should cooperate with
other countries in the world in order to fight against terrorism and violence.
Q: Ms.
Toivakka, let’s talk about bilateral relations between Iran and Finland. As you
know, the issue of security is one of the most important factors for investment
in any region of the world. Under the present circumstances, Iran is the sole
secure country in the Middle East. What effect this issue can have on trade
ties between Finland and Iran and also on possible investment in Iran by your
government?
A: We
have always had good relations with Iran. Iran is an important actor in the
Middle East. Your country is a great county. It has a population of about 80
million and is among important regional countries from political and economic
viewpoints. Your history also tells us that you have always played an axial
role in this region and have always been one of our main partners in the region.
In coming years and in view of new conditions, we are sure that relations
between our country and Iran will certainly expand.
If you look at
Finland’s history, you will see that our country is a country, which has always
tried to have good relations with all other countries of the world. Finland is
a small country with a population of only 5 million, but we have always been in
contact with all countries in the world and cooperated with them. Many of world
people admit that the Finnish people have always treated other culture in a
friendly and constructive way.
Q: As you
said, Iran is a country with a population of about 80 million. What is your
opinion about Iran? Do you simply see Iran as another big market for the export
of your products, or relations between Finland and Iran are expected to be
based on a win-win equation? Are you planning to transfer technical know-how
and technology to Iran in addition to possible export of your products to the
Iranian market?
A: The
Iranian market is a good market for the export of our products. In addition to
products, we can also export services to Iran, especially in the field of urban
and information technology infrastructure. However, we do not see Iran simply
as a big consumer market. Our companies are looking forward to investing in
Iran. Some of them have offices in Iran as we speak.
The high
number and composition of people who make up my accompanying delegation shows
that we are serious about boosting our economic relations with Iran. Iran and
Finland have good political and diplomatic relations with each other. We are
going to further develop bilateral economic relations. Our visit is aimed at
getting better understanding of the economic conditions in both countries. In
this stage, we must gain more information about each country’s economic
conditions. We must know each other better and trade companies in the two
countries must get to know each other’s activities better. We must also get a
better understanding of laws governing economic atmosphere of each country in
order to be able to remove any possible obstacles in this regard. Our relations
with Iran will not be restricted to selling products and will certainly include
transfer of technology and technical know-how as well.
Q: You are
active in the field of women’s rights and job creation for women in Finland. Do
you have any information on the activities of women in the Iranian society? To
what extent do you know the community of the Iranian women?
A: To
tell you the truth I do not know the Iranian women’s community properly, but in
this trip, I had the chance to have a meeting with a number of female
entrepreneurs in Iran. I know that about 60 percent of university students in
Iran are girls and this is very good. In Finland, as well, most of students in
universities are girls. I believe that both here and in Finland, more women
should enter the field of trade. This issue is not simply a challenging issue
for your country, because it is also a major challenge in Finland. [A major
issue is] how to strike a balance between family and the workplace and how
women can get involved more in various trade and executive fields. In my
opinion, every society needs an equal proportion of healthy and capable women
and men.
Q: Apart
from political and economic matters, what is your opinion about the Iranian
people and the interaction that can take shape between the two countries under
new conditions that will come about following the removal of sanctions, which
have been imposed on Iran?
A: The
people in Iran possess a rich culture. In my opinion face-to-face contacts
between our people and the people of Iran must increase, so that, they would
know each other’s cultures better. In today’s world we need to treat each other
with more respect and, in my opinion, the best way to achieve this goal, is to
obtain a better understanding of each other. I invite the Iranian people to
travel to our country and become familiar with our people. Apart from that, as
representative of Finland’s government and also as representative of the European
Union, I sincerely invite the Iranian people as well as the Iranian
businesspeople to enter the global market and the European market, because
there are good opportunities in various fields in Europe, and we can work
together in these common fields.
Key Words: Iran,
Finland, Middle East, Syrian War, Refugees, Europe, Terror Attacks, Terrorist
Forces, Daesh, Technology, Iranian Market, Diplomatic Relations, Women’s
Rights, Job Creation, Removal of Sanctions, Toivakka
Source:
Hamshahri Daily
Translated By: Iran
Review.Org
This interview
excerpt was originally published at IranReview.org.
All rights
reserved by the original publisher.
