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Russian, Finnish prime ministers to discuss bilateral projects, Russia-EU relations

According to the cabinet, the parties are expected to discuss Russian-Finnish trade, economy, energy, industrial and humanitarian cooperation

MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. Russian Prime Minister will hold a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Antti Rinne in Moscow on Monday, the Russian government said in a statement.

According to the cabinet, the parties are expected to discuss Russian-Finnish trade, economy, energy, industrial and humanitarian cooperation, investment projects, as well as issues concerning relations between Russia and the EU in light of Finland’s current presidency of the Council of the European Union.

It will be Medvedev’s first meeting with Rinne, who heads a government formed in June 2019. Medvedev met with the former prime minister of Finland, Juha Sipila, in September 2018. At the time, the Russian prime minister pointed to constructive relations between the two countries and said that Moscow sought to once again become Finland’s leading trade partner. Medvedev also emphasized that "though relations between Russia and the European Union remain complicated, it is possible to accomplish various tasks at the bilateral level."

Trade and large-scale projects

According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, trade between Russia and Finland stood at $14.7 bln in 2018, nearly 20% up from the 2017 level. Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry says that Finland has invested a total of $14 bln in the Russian economy, leaving the United States, China, Japan and Italy behind. Russia, in turn, invested $3.4 bln in Finland.

About 2,000 companies with Russian capital are active on the Finnish market, while 900 Finnish companies work in Russia.

Finland was one of the first countries in the Baltic region to grant permission for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the country’s exclusive economic zone. Pipe-laying work in the Gulf of Finland was completed in August 2019.

Russia and Finland plan to launch the biggest joint project - the construction of the Hanhikivi Nuclear Power Plant in Finland - in 2021. According to Russia’s Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation, Russia will make a 17.5 bln euro profit out of the project.