By Azernews

By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade

Exchange of experiences between Azerbaijan and Finland in the fields of oil cooperation and environmentally friendly technologies could bring benefits and necessary base for implementation of potentially successful mutual projects.

Paivi Peltokoski, Head of Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, has told Trend that Finland welcomes Azerbaijan’s infrastructure development projects.

She stated that thanks to the Southern Gas Corridor, Azerbaijan is a strategic energy partner to the European Union and if Baku strives to be an important transport hub in the broader region, Azerbaijan will need all components of air, land, and sea transport, which can be provided by large Finnish companies specialized in ports logistics and shipbuilding industries.

Peltokoski noted that the state agreement that Finland signed with Russia on direct international railway services is also applied to third countries, including Azerbaijan.

The unit head said that there are several factors which affect the choice of the transport route of European transport and logistics companies.

“Today, environmental issues are also an important factor for many companies, because the clients of these companies want to know how safe their transport is from an environmental point of view. Finland can offer its experience in ensuring environmental safety in the sea transport industry,” she pointed out.

The Finnish-Azerbaijani relations date back to the early 20th century when Finnish community were involved in Azerbaijan’s dynamically growing oil industry.

Finland recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991, and on March 24, 1992, the diplomatic relations were established.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, the foreign trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Finland amounted to $29.94 million in 2018 which is 56.23 percent more than in 2017.

Recently, the Finnish Meteorological Institute has successfully concluded a project on upgrading the National Environmental Monitoring System of Azerbaijan.

Today Finland and Azerbaijan are also partners through the EU Eastern Partnership framework.