[ST. PAUL, MN] – Today, Governor Tim Walz met with Ambassador Mika Koskinen, currently serving as Consul General of Finland in New York, as a follow up to his trade mission to Helsinki in November 2021. The meeting also included the Ministerial Adviser, Food Department/Food Safety Unit at the Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and representatives from the Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C. After the meeting, the Governor and Ambassador Koskinen joined a reception with the visiting delegation of Finnish businesses and the Minnesota delegates from the Governor’s trade mission. The visit and interactions promoted continued discussions of shared objectives between Minnesota and Finland and opportunities for future collaboration.

“I was honored to host Ambassador Koskinen and the delegation after our visit to Helsinki in November ,” said Governor Tim Walz. “We continued our productive conversations about our shared interests to expand economic opportunities, improve health and increase environmental sustainability.”

The visit from the Finnish delegation comes following the Governor’s trade mission to Finland to increase the economic partnership, and a joint Letter of Understanding between Minnesota and Finland focused on increasing cooperation in research and development of sustainable technologies to mitigate climate change, promote environmental remediation and advance green sustainable growth. A delegation from Health Capital Helsinki visited Minnesota in May to meet with medical technology and health system leaders to further the cooperation and exchanges in the health field.

Minnesota’s global exports of goods were valued at almost $24 billion in 2021, up 17% since 2020. Top exported products include electrical equipment, mineral fuels, oils, vehicles and machinery. Finland and Minnesota each have innovative health care sectors that boast strong exports. Health technology is the fastest growing high-tech export sector in Finland, rising to nearly $2.7 billion in 2018, up fivefold compared to 20 years ago.

Expanding Minnesota exports to Finland could serve as a gateway to expanding other Minnesota export markets in the Nordic Region. Minnesota businesses seeking to expand exports to Finland will find that Finnish businesses and customers are very receptive to innovative goods and services. Finland offers a market of highly-educated business owners and consumers with high purchasing power. In addition to being one of the top countries in the world in sustainability and innovation, Finland also has a renowned quality of life -- much like Minnesota, which ranks 3rd among all U.S. states in quality of life.

Minnesota is home to U.S. operations of several Finnish companies, including Uponor, UPM and Trustmary. Uponor North America was awarded the Governor’s International Trade Award for Foreign Direct Investment in 2019, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal’s 2020 Minnesota Manufacturing Awards’ Sustainability Award. The latter award recognized the company’s work in water conservation, waste reduction, improved energy efficiency, and empowering labor. All of Uponor’s North American manufacturing operations are located in Minnesota. UPM operates the UPM-Blandin facility in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, which UPM acquired upon purchasing the North American Blandin Paper Company in 1997. UPM employs around 200 Minnesotans and owns more than 188,000 acres of forest in Minnesota, making it one of the largest private landowners in the state. Over the past 9 years, the Blandin plant has reduced its CO2 emissions by 26%. Trustmary is a leading SaaS-based testimonial marketing platform based in Finland, with its US headquarters are in Minneapolis.