As development cooperation and foreign trade minister Ville Skinnari says: “Finland has a very long-lasting relation with many, many African countries and governments.”
The country’s four-point cooperation agenda encompasses peace and security, trade and the economy, climate and natural resources, and education and expertise.
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The economic imperative has changed with the rise of China. “When it comes to infrastructure and the construction sector, Finnish industries were there in Africa for decades,” says Skinnari.
Now, service-sector companies such as Nokia are building telecoms networks that prefigure a future move to 5G and other projects.
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While China has large advantages in vendor finance – bringing the ability both to fund and build a road, for
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