Representatives of the City of Rijeka and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County held a joint reception for the new Ambassador of Finland to Croatia, HE Kalle Johannes Kankaanpää.

Ambassador Kankaanpää was received on behalf of the City of Rijeka by the Mayor of Rijeka Marko Filipović, while on behalf of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County he was welcomed by Vojko Braut and Petar Mamula, deputy presidents of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

Mayor Filipović expressed his satisfaction with the visit of the Finnish Ambassador and he pointed out that the main topic of the reception had been economic cooperation between Finland and Croatia, especially the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and Rijeka.

“Our talks were mainly about design and engineering for the shipbuilding industry. Rijeka has become a European hub for shipbuilding design – over a thousand engineers in Rijeka work and generate revenues that are above the Croatian average in companies jointly owned by Croatian owners and owners from abroad – the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden – and they design ships that sail all the world’s seas,” said Mayor Filipovic, adding that during the meeting they had also talked about Jadran Galenski Laboratorij, the largest Croatian pharmaceutical company.

He added that they had also discussed tourism and the possibility of reintroducing airlines that would connect Finland and Croatia. He expressed his belief that this year many Finnish tourists, whose number in Croatia and Rijeka is on the rise every year, will visit Rijeka.

The talks also included a topic related to the exchange of experiences in the field of education.

“Finland has one of the best education systems in the world and their experiences can significantly contribute to the development of the education system in Croatia as well. On the other hand, Rijeka has developed a model of civic education recognised by many municipalities and cities in Croatia. I am glad that during some of our next visits, announced by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we will operationalise the cooperation related to both civic education and our University”, said Mayor Filipović.

Deputy president Braut pointed out that it had been agreed to continue cooperation and exchange of experience in the field in which Finland and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County were similar, namely the revitalisation of rural areas.

Ambassador Kankaanpää ponted out that that was his first official trip outside Zagreb, emphasising that he was fascinated by our region, as well as the possibilities of cooperation between Finnish and Croatian companies, primarily in the health sector.

“The Finnish healthcare system and industry are known for high-quality services and equipment, and I see opportunities for Finnish companies to cooperate with Croatia, not only in terms of equipment, but also software, artificial intelligence and others related to the health sector,” said the ambassador, adding that he saw the possibility of improving cooperation in maritime technologies and tourism, for which Croatia was widely known.

During his inaugural visit, Ambassador Kankaanpää was accompanied by Mladen Merlak, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Finland in Rijeka.

H.E. Kalle Johannes Kankaanpää became the Ambassador of the Republic of Finland to the Republic of Croatia on 11 May 2021.

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