A Finnish business delegation visited Kuala Lumpur
A Finnish Business Deligations visited Kuala Lumpur on November 19th-20th, 2009 lead by Esko Hamilo, Under-Secretary of State Prime Minister's Office. The purpose of the visit was to improve Finland and Malaysia's economic relations and acquaint each country with business opportunities. The business delegation comprised of 13 Finnish companies representing various sectors.
On the first day of the visit, the company representatives met Malaysian companies and visited various ministries bilaterally. Together the whole delegation - that included also representatives from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and Finpro - participated to a lunch offered by H.E. Tapio Saarela, Ambassador of Finland to Malaysia and visited two Malaysian ministries. In the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) the delegation was received by Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed and representatives of relevant government agencies. In the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) they were received by professor Datin Paduka Dr. Khatijah Binti Mohd Yusoff and the representatives of various government agencies in the sector.
On the second day, a seminar and a networking event were organized at Hotel Nikko by Finpro, EUMCCI (EU Malaysia Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and FMM (Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers). The seminar started with the opening remarks of Mr. Jari Hietala, vice president of Finpro Asia. Under-Secretary of State Esko Hamilo continued the seminar by giving a speech on behalf of the Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, who had to postpone his visit to Malaysia due to an extraordinary EU summit in Brussels the very same day. The speech concentrated on current economic situation in Finland and the possible fields of cooperation like cleantech. Malaysia was represented by Mr. Ahmad Tajudin Oma from MIDA (Malaysian Industrial Development Authority) who followed with a speech on MIDA's role in Malaysia and opportunities that Malaysia offer to foreign companies.
In the afternoon at the networking session, Malaysian guests had an opportunity to have one-on-one discussions with the Finnish companies' representatives. Many of the guests used this opportunity and connections were thus formed. Participants of the business delegation and people participating to the seminar were of the opinion that the whole visit was a success.
