The last DIF member event was held on 13th December at Kämp Hotel. Ambassador Douglas Hickey, U.S. Embassy in Finland, gave a short overview of the economic situation of the US and its trade relations.
Investments, intelligence exchange, and cooperation
– The key to any successful relationship is trust, and we trust each other, stated Ambassador Hickey. Thus, there are multiple opportunities for Finnish companies in the US and vice versa, starting from intelligence exchange, investments, and cooperation, such as joint ventures.
Finns have a service as a part of the DNA – and Finland makes NATO stronger
NATO is strong, and it has never been stronger. The fact of how rapidly 29 countries have approved Finland as a NATO member has shown the Finns brand in service.
Service is a part of your DNA which you continue to invest. Finns have done it forever; it is a part of how you live your everyday life.
Reserve in Finland has more soldiers than, for example, Germany, France, and Italy altogether. And Finland will have the most advanced air forces in Europe, maybe even worldwide.
It is not only a military life and defense angle how Finland makes NATO stronger. Finland and Sweden increase NATO´s value also in the business sector: AI, green technology, quantum, 5G/6G, … Finland is well-known for the quality of its engineers, whereas the US is known for its world-class marketing people.
We are ready to face the challenges together
There are several negative things that we are facing at the moment: climate, energy, and food crises, to name a few. However, there are also tremendous opportunities.
The similar regulatory environment makes it easy for us to cooperate and stay together. The US knows that doing business with Finland does not mean ”getting the product but giving a piece of the security”. We also share similar values and a sense of human rights and people, product, and IP protection.
We need to keep continuous dialogue and focus on constant improvement
Keeping a continuous dialogue and person-to-person conversations with all nations and nationalities is critical. Also, information sharing (of lessons learned) and constant improvement, e.g., in green technology, is essential.
To conclude, NATO gives opportunities, rebuilding Ukraine offers opportunities, and the challenges we are now facing (food, climate, energy) open doors for opportunities.
There is a strong basis for Finland and the US to continue and start new forms of cooperation. Be active in finding people who share common thoughts and values!
