Promoting export – Embassy of Finland is here for you

The geographically wide network of Finnish diplomatic missions abroad provides companies with public services related to export promotion and internationalization. Services are designed to help all businesses engaged in export or investment projects with a Finnish interest. This may be related to not only export promotion but also the encouragement of Finnish business activities abroad and support for foreign technology transfers to and investment in Finland.

What services does the Embassy of Finland provide?

Promotional activities are used "to open doors" for companies and to help them establish contacts with the authorities and businesses in host countries. These prestige services play a significant role in many countries. The embassy may, for example, agree to arrange a promotional event for a company in its premises. It is advisable to contact the embassy in good time about the arrangement of such an event.

Visits at the ministerial and senior official level involve the export promotion and internationalization dimension (including cultural exports) whenever possible. Finpro takes principal responsibility for the business delegations.

The missions abroad answer to commercial and economic enquiries in cooperation with the local representative of Finpro. The Finpro representative has the principal responsibility for responding to the questions placed by companies.

The Embassy distributes information about Finland in the host country and in various ways contributes to increasing knowledge about and respect for Finland in the country of posting. This takes place by means of distributing information material, such as brochures. The same material can be used to further companies' projects in a manner that is separately agreed upon. A convenient source of information is the virtual.finland.fi-website, which is maintained by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Finnish diplomatic missions abroad do not, as a rule, provide consultants' services or similar assistance nor do they produce market reports or make market analyses. This work is done by, for example, Finpro and other corresponding Finnish or foreign actors or consultants.

How much do the services cost?

The services are premised on the general idea that the public export promotion and internationalization services, provided by the Embassy, are free of charge for companies. Provided that the services entail clear, specifiable extra costs for the mission, such as travel and hotel expenses, meals, interpreter services, research, investigation and expert services, etc., the service requirer is charged the expenses.

For example, the arrangement of a promotional event normally leads also to partly or totally chargeable expenses to cover such services as rents and catering. It is advisable to agree about them with the mission in advance. In case a promotional event is arranged to further the interests of a particular private company only, the expenses arising from the arrangements are charged from the company in full, but if a company is involved in an event which promotes export promotion and internationalization work in general, the distribution of the expenses between the parties can be agreed upon separately.

What other services does the Foreign Service provide?

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs contributes to the removal of barriers to trade. In cooperation with Finnish companies, we explore barriers to trade and take measures to eliminate them. The Minister for Foreign Trade can also bring up problematic issues encountered by Finnish exporters, for example, in his discussions with high-level foreign representatives. As required, the Commission of the European Union is contacted to get support in finding solutions to the problems.

Whenever barriers to trade and investment are identified, companies can notify the Ministry for Foreign Affairs by sending this form filled to the Unit for Market Access by email: http://formin.finland.fi/public/download.aspx?ID=49481&GUID={87B5BDAF-062C-4176-915B-405A9A3D3285}. Handling of the notifications will be kept strictly confidential. Measures to eliminate a barrier to trade will be taken after an approval has been received from the company concerned.

Investment protection agreements have been negotiated with different countries in order to protect Finnish companies' investments.

The expertise accumulated by the network of missions concerning the political and economic development of the host countries is transferred to the companies' use. Country information is also available in the Kauppapolitiikka magazine and the Maailman markkinat publication, which relies on information obtained from the missions abroad.

Information about the development policy instruments used by companies is also disseminated through the Ministry. The Ministry's new business partnership program is administered by Finnfund and information about concessional credits can be obtained from the website of Finnvera. In cooperation with Finpro's Project Advisory Services, information is provided about projects carried out by international organizations and financial institutions. Projects can be conducted not only in the actual developing countries but also in Europe, both in the new Member States and in the candidate countries.

Contact persons at the Embassy of Finland, Thailand

Sirpa Mäenpää
Ambassador
sirpa.maenpaa@formin.fi

Sirpa Nyberg
Deputy Head of Mission
sirpa.nyberg@formin.fi

Contact person Finpro, Thailand

Kai Tuorila
kai.tuorila@finpro.fi