Baku, Azerbaijan, April 10. For bigger-scale
projects, Finland has high hopes for the European Investment Bank
(EIB), which just signed a Host Country Agreement with Uzbekistan,
Finland’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan Ilkka Räisänen told Trend in an exclusive
interview.
“The EIB could play a crucial role in providing financing for
sustainable transport, water management, and climate resilience
projects in Uzbekistan,” he said.
The Ambassador pointed out that Finnish companies have shown an
increasing interest in Uzbekistan, particularly due to the
country’s status as the most populous market in Central Asia and
its diverse natural resources.
“Uzbekistan’s impressive economic growth, supported by the
government’s goal to achieve upper-middle income status by 2030,
presents significant opportunities for Finnish businesses. For
businesses seeking to enter the Central Asian market, Uzbekistan
presents opportunities due to its improved foreign trade and
investment climate,” Ilkka Räisänen explained.
According to him, Finland has expressed full support for
Uzbekistan’s goal of joining the WTO with a transparent,
predictable, and attractive investment regime. He stressed that
this is crucial for encouraging private sector-led growth,
investment, and cross-border trade in Uzbekistan.
The ambassador highlighted the role of Finnish institutions in
supporting Uzbekistan’s development.
“For example, Finnvera, the Export Credit Agency (ECA) of
Finland, has given guarantees to the efficiency-improving
modernization of power plants, which have Finnish
Wartsila-manufactured generating sets in Uzbekistan. Finland owns
the majority of a development financier and impact investor called
Finnfund, which has financed Oasis Credit, the first international
micro and small business lender in Uzbekistan,” he mentioned.
Ilkka Räisänen then drew attention to Finnpartnership, a
business partnership program financed by the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs of Finland and managed by Finnfund, which helps connect
Finnish and Uzbek companies for industrial cooperation.
On the topic of water management, the ambassador highlighted
Finland’s expertise and long-standing participation in
water-related initiatives.
“Globally, we have developed the Finnish Water Way –
International Water Strategy for responsible and equitable water
security. The strategy has been built on the Finnish approach to
sustainable water management based on close cross-sectoral
collaboration. Regarding the Aral Sea basin, Finland has quite a
long cooperation track record. We contributed to the World Bank
Aral Sea Program already in the mid-nineties. Additionally, in
1998, we financed and published a study with the Central Asian
countries called Environmental Development Co-operation
Opportunities, including various projects related to
desertification and drought,” he noted.
Ilkka Räisänen emphasized that Finland has also made
contributions to the UN Multi-Partner Human Security Trust Fund for
the Aral Sea, which was initiated by Uzbekistan.
“We are closely monitoring the possibilities emerging from the
EU and Uzbekistan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement,
which is expected to be signed later this year. This agreement will
open up exciting opportunities for joint programs and cooperation
projects in areas such as innovation, clean energy, mining
technology, digitalization, transport, and logistics,” he
added.