Helsinki to establish joint representation in St. Petersburg with Tampere and Kotka
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Three Finnish cities - Helsinki, Tampere, and Kotka - are to open a joint representation in St. Petersburg, Russia.
On Tuesday the managers of the three cities signed a letter of intent in St. Petersburg on setting up a new Helsinki Centre as the cities’ shared lobbying office in the Russian metropolis.
The cities are hoping the centre will act as a tool through which they can maintain relationships with the Russian city and its business life.
”We have a huge number of various cooperation projects with St. Petersburg, and through the centre these can be handled in a meaningful way”, reasons Helsinki Mayor Jussi Pajunen.
The previous Helsinki Centre closed down at the beginning of 2007. Its idea was mainly just to provide premises for the Finnish companies aspiring to do business in Russia.
The new centre has been outlined to promote co-operation, for example, in traffic connections, logistics, and the motor vehicle industry.
“The Finnish cities will have an implementation tool on the spot”, describes Pirkko Perheentupa, director of the centre.
The centre will employ a staff of three, with most of the expenses covered by the City of Helsinki.
The centre’s activities will reach their full momentum in a year’s time, when the centre relocates into the new Finland House to be erected near St. Petersburg’s main thoroughfare Nevsky Prospekt.
The three Finnish cities’ interest towards St Petersburg has grown thanks to the city’s increased political weight and its oil-lubricated economy. This decade St. Petersburg’s economy has grown at an annual rate of eight per cent.
Tampere’s aim is to use the centre to promote exports, tourism, and cultural exchange. Kotka, in turn, is looking to expand the market for its logistics know-how.
According to Kotka city manager Henry Lindelöf, the centre will be of help when looking for cooperation partners in St. Petersburg for the planned Russian Business Centre in Kotka, into which the city aspires to concentrate its Russia connections.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 17.9.2008 - TODAY |
 Helsinki to establish joint representation in St. Petersburg with Tampere and Kotka |
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