Finnish Trade Policies and Developing Countries: Case Africa

Antti Loikas. Senior Adviser

Department of Africa and the Middle East

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Finland and African countries

• 9 Finnish embassies in the African continent which are in responsible of all political relations: political, security, trade, commercial and development policy relations

• As an EU member country Finnish Trade policy is competency of the EU

• The EU has a strong position as a partner for African countries as the EU, including its member states, is the biggest donor of African development cooperation and the most important trading partner for African countries.

Finland and African countries

• The emphasis of Finnish development policy and cooperation has traditionally been on Africa

• The objective of Finland’s development policy framework for Africa is to create a strategic framework for strengthening partnership between Finland and Africa through development policy measures.

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Palestinian territory

Lebanon

IsraelJordania

Syria

Qatar

Kuwait

Bahrain

Arabiemiraattien

liittoSaudi-Arabia

Cameron

Sao Tome

and Principe

Päiväntasaajan

Guinea

Nigeria

Gambia

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Cap Verde

Guinea

Algeria

Tunisia

IraqIran

MozambiqueBotswana

Zimbabwe

Swaziland

Malawi

Namibia

Congo democratic republic

Angola

Egypt

MauritaniaMali

Togo

Ghana

Ivory-

coast

Burkina Faso

Benin

Lesotho

South Africa

Burundi

RwandaGabon

Congo

Central Africa

Zambia

Djibouti

Somalia

Ethiopia

Eritrea (NAI)

Morocco

Oman

Yemen

Libya

Sudan

Uganda Kenya

MadagascarMauritius (PRE)

Seychelles (NAI)

Komorit

Tanzania

Thad

Niger

Liberia

Sierra Leone

DAMBAG

ABO

ABA

RIA

TEH

PRE

WIN

TEL

KAI

NAI

DAR

Embassy (lightened organisation)

Embassy (ambassador)

RAM

TUN

LUS

MAP

ADD

RAB

Embassy (charge affaires)

Unit for Middle East

Unit for East and West Africa

Unit for Southern Africa

Accredited to:Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius (Namibia)

Accredited to:Bahrain, Qatar

Accredited to: Angola,Swaziland

Accredited to: Burundi,Rwanda,DR Congo

Accredited to:Eritrea, Seychelles,Uganda

Accredited to: Iraq,Jordan,Lebanon

Accredited to: Yemen,Kuwait,Oman

Accreditations under consideration:At least Ghana, Liberia andSenegal,

Accredited to:Libya

Accredited to:Sudan

Roving ambassador to Algeria

Areas covered by Ministry units and Finnish Embassies

African countries and Finland

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Despite the development challenges, Africa is moving:

•Number of conflicts reducing, peace agreements

•Economic growth

•AU, African ownership in affairs of the continent

•Impact of global economic crisis is temporary; Africa will integrate to global markets and rise it’s share in the market

•Africa will take it’s share as an important trade partner to Finland

What is Development Policy?

• Action in all national and international policy areas that affect developing nations, such as:- security

- human rights

- trade

- agriculture and forestry

- education

- health and social policy

- the environment

- migration- ICT

• Development cooperation is one of the tools of development policy

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Finland’s Development Policy Programme 2007

The main aim is the eradication of poverty in accordance with the objectives of the UN Millenium Development Goals

Finland’s development policy will increasingly focus on:

”Towards a just and sustainable humanity policy”

• The eradication of poverty can only be achieved through sustainable development

• ecologically

• economically

• socially sustainable development

• Favourable economic development is the best tool against poverty.

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Africa in Finnish Development Policy

• Finland is committed to providing focused support for the implementation of the joint Africa-EU Strategy, that adopted in Lisbon in 2007.

• The strategy sets out four priority area: peace and security, good governance and human rights, trade and regional integration, and key development issues.

• Regional integration: Economic Partnership Agreements and Aid for Trade

• Finland is currently planning infrastructure and private sector support projects in eastern and Southern Africa and these projects can be merged into EPA process

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Aid for Trade

• Developing countries and trade: WTO-rounds, EU-ACP economic partnership agreements (EPAs)

• The aim of Aid for Trade is to strengthen the trading and production capacity of developing countries through bilateral and multilateral cooperation (eg. competition policy, creating conditions for investment, etc.)

• Support for trade with developing countries by way of facilitating imports from developing countries and promoting investments.

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Regional approach: Energy and Environment Partnerships (EEP)

• Finland has a regional Energy and Environment Partnerships (EEP) - a Public Private Partnership programme aiming at promoting the use of renewable energy sources and clean technologies in Southern Africa and making energy services more accessible to the poor, particularly in rural areas. It has proved very successful elsewhere, especially in Central America.

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Trade Related Development Cooperation Instruments

• Finnfund is used to develop the production capacity of developing countries.

• Finnpartnership: cooperation between businesses in Finland and developing countries.

• Concessionary credits: especially for the support of environmental and infratructure projects that are based on the partner country’s PRSP.

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Import Policy

• A growing demand for new products and services opens up opportunities for both small and large exporters from African countries to enter Finnish and European markets.

• Through Finnish import policy it is possible to assist companies in complying with the required rules and regulations as well as in finding potential partners.

• There is an import officer at the MFA to give guidance to companies.

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Africa and Finland: Future Prospects

• Finland looks forward to strengthening its commercial relations further with the countries of Africa

• Finland is producing investment goods and services and we are one of the world’s net exporters of high technology in this respect. Therefore, I am confident that Finnish products and services could be in a key role also in the development of Africa’s own national investments and production.

• There are demand and supply and also financing available but still.. There are risks linked to business environment are restraining commercial relations. Development cooperation will lower these restrains.

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