Finland opens regional office in Plymouth

Ambassador impressed with 'dynamism'

Plymouth is the new south west home of the honorary consulate of Finland which has been opened by the Finnish ambassador during a visit to the region.

An honorary consulate represents one country in another, promoting mutual interests, trade and investment.

Ambassador Jukka Siukosaari met with business and education leaders in the city as well as local councillors at a reception at the offices of law firm Womble Bond Dickenson at Ballard House where the honorary consulate is based.

He said he was impressed by their “dynamism” and hoped to forge new relationships between Plymouth and wider south west and Finland in business, education and culture, the marine industries and green technologies.

He also visited Plymouth University and some of the city’s marine autonomy businesses such as MSubs, which builds and operates submersibles.

The consulate is a regional offices of Finland's embassy in London and will be headed by Finland-born lawyer Christina Tolvas-Vincent, who has been honorary consul for West Sussex, Hampshire and Dorset for the past 14 years.

Her area has now been extended to Devon and Cornwall.

Ambassador Jukka Siukosaari  said: "The embassy will guide and help Christina to find the right contacts in Finland for businesses here and for Finland companies wishing to establish  operations in the south west.

"Finland and the UK are not that far from each other culturally, but I still think to have someone who also knows the legal environment is so valuable. It also helps to have someone who knows the culture and can act as an interpretor.

“What I am especially impressed with in Plymouth is the amount of manufacturing it seems to have and the export orientation of companies that are here. There is a dynamism for looking at new markets.

“In some other parts of the country, they are centred on serving the domestic market only, but, despite the UK not being within the European single market, here in Plymouth, it is still your most important destination for your exports.”

Mr Siukosaari said he hoped the consulate would give travel opportunities for students and teachers so they could learn from each other.

Chairman of the South West Business Council Tim Jones said the south west is “hugely ambitious” to build international relationships and since Brexit it has been looking for “the next entry points around the world”.

He said the launch of the consulate and the chance to collaborate with an “exciting country like Finland” is of great value.

“We now have a point of contact here and in London, and the more contacts we can make at this sort of level the better the south west is going to be in terms of its international relationships," he said.

“The marine industry is... one of leading edge global businesses we have got in the south west and indeed in the country.

“What the university do, [and] what marine businesses do - led by Babcock with its huge investment programme - is leading edge. We are very very good at it and need to keep ahead of the market."

He continued: “We educate [young people] and then they disappear. We need to turn that around and the marine industry is one of those opportunities.

“For a young person to have an exchange through the consulate is exactly what we are looking for, both in marine and the nuclear power sectors.”

Finland's honorary consulate is situated above Plymouth City Council's offices at Ballard House on West Hoe Road and looks out over Plymouth Sound.

The council's deputy leader Jemima Laing (Lab, Stoke) said: “There are real connections between the expertise that we have in Plymouth and the industries that Finland is excited about, like marine, sustainable energy and green technologies. There is a synergy there that we hope to develop over the time that the consul is here.

“Anything that continues to keep putting us on the global stage, and so we feature in conversations, is great. More and more people are getting the message that Plymouth is an incredible place to live.”