Finland: Lintilä encourages Nordic cooperation in mineral and tourism issues

NordenBladet — The meeting of ministers of economic affairs of the Nordic Council of Ministers was held in Helsinki on Thursday 16 September 2021. The ministers decided, among other things, to increase cooperation in sustainable mineral production and to promote sustainable tourism. The meeting was chaired by Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

During the meeting, a report on critical raw materials in the Nordic countries was released, presented by Kimmo Tiilikainen, Director General of the Geological Survey of Finland. Lintilä welcomes the increased links between Nordic researchers and companies. According to him, Nordic cooperation promotes sustainable raw material supply and mineral production both from mines and the flows of circular economy.

-Access to raw materials plays a key role in meeting climate and environmental objectives and it is an important competitive factor for Nordic business and industry. Standardising and certifying mineral production is an international matter that the Nordic countries can promote together, Mika Lintilä said.

Funding for tourism cooperation
The ministers decided to allocate DKK 20 million (approximately EUR 2.7 million) for measures supporting sustainable tourism and the travel sector’s recovery in 2021–2024. The initiative will produce information to support decision-making on sustainable development goals, develop statistics on the impact of tourism and seek tourism innovations. “It is important to increase Nordic discussion on the significance of the tourism industry and the opportunities for cooperation. The capacity and willingness to promote sustainable development in the Nordic countries offers a good basis for strengthening the sustainability of tourism in cooperation,” Lintilä added.