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Finland and Russia sign memorandum of understanding to cooperate in construction industry

The document provides for a wider exchange of information on housing construction, renovation work, building planning and land use, as well as joint search for sustainable solutions for the development of urban space and the industry as a whole

HELSINKI, September 22. /TASS/. Finland and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in construction industry, the Russian trade mission in Finland announced on Wednesday. The signing ceremony was held as a videoconference.

The meeting of the Russian-Finnish construction group was chaired by Russian Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing and Utilities Maxim Egorov and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment Juhani Damski.

"As part of the meeting, a memorandum of understanding in the field of construction was signed, providing for deepening cooperation between the interested departments," the statement says.

The document provides for a wider exchange of information on housing construction, renovation work, building planning and land use, as well as joint search for sustainable solutions for the development of urban space and the industry as a whole. The parties plan to cooperate on energy distribution in land use planning, digitalization, energy efficiency of buildings, air quality in the premises, engineering and maintenance work for the maintenance of buildings, the trade mission says.

At the meeting the parties stressed "the need to strengthen cooperation between national research institutes and information exchange at the municipal and regional levels." The parties intend to assist each other in revealing structural and economic barriers to doing business and making proposals for their elimination.

The participants also touched upon introduction of smart city technologies, energy efficiency and modernization of communal infrastructure facilities and the impact of the climate packages adopted by the European Union on the construction industry.

At the request of the Finnish side, the Russian participants in the meeting shared their experience in implementing a renovation program in Moscow aimed at demolishing dilapidated low-rise housing and new construction in the vacated sites, as well as introducing energy-efficient solutions in new buildings.

The parties agreed to hold the next meeting in Helsinki, in face-to-face format (if possible), the trade mission concluded.

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