Baltic Development Forum is cooperating with a number of important strategic partners, which support the work and activities of the organisation throughout the year. Strategic partners, which represent both governments and businesses, provide invaluable input to the strategic work of Baltic Development Forum.
The Confederation of Danish Industry
The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) is a private organization currently funded, owned and managed entirely by 10.000 companies within manufacturing, trade and service industry.
DI actively promotes the interests of business in a variety of industry related policy areas. In order to strengthen member companies’ positions on the emerging markets in the Eastern part of the Baltic Sea Region it is important to DI to support the political, economical and cultural process of development which integrates the Baltic countries in the European Union.
DI is a member of the Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe, UNICE, the voice of European business and industry vis-à-vis EU institutions.Further, as a representative of Danish industry, DI is a member of the International Chamber of Commerce, ICC, and of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, BIAC. DI is appointed Danish member of the Council of Baltic Sea States’ Business Advisory Council, BAC.
Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs
The Danish Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs seeks to improve the conditions for growth in Denmark. The Ministry conducts thorough economic analyses and suggests policy initiatives in areas imperative to economic growth.
The main mission of the ministry is to create future-oriented conditions for growth for citizens and companies in an increasingly globalised world and the vision is to achieve the best conditions for growth in Europe in order to make Denmark an attractive place to live, work and run a company.
The Baltic Sea Region defined as the Nordic countries, the Baltic States, Poland, Germany and Northwest Russia is considered an area of special interest for Denmark. Denmark is actively engaged in the pursuit of economic integration and business development in the region both bilaterally and within the various regional frameworks for economic cooperation.
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is one of the world’s largest multilateral financing institutions. As the bank of the European Union, it uses its special expertise and resources to make a difference to the future of Europe and its partners by supporting sound investments underpinning EU policy objectives. Set up in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Community, the EIB operates as a bank and raises the majority of its resources on the capital markets on favourable terms, which it passes on to its borrowers. The EIB’s shareholders are the Member States of the European Union. The Bank is financially autonomous and does not come under the EU budget. EIB lending is channelled primarily to projects in the EU Member States. Outside the Union, the Bank contributes to the implementation of EU development aid and cooperation policies under specific regional mandates covering EU Candidate and Potential Candidate Countries in the Enlargement Region; Mediterranean countries, Russia and the Eastern Neighbours; African, Pacific and Caribbean (ACP) countries, and the Republic of South Africa; Asia and Latin America. The EIB supports the Baltic Sea Region’s long tradition of cross-border cooperation by financing long-term projects in transport, energy, the environment, research, development and innovation (RDI), climate action and SMEs.
Government Offices of Sweden
The Swedish Government is assisted by the Government Offices (Regeringskansliet) – a single, integrated authority comprising the Prime Minister’s Office, the government ministries and the Office for Administrative Affairs. The Government Offices of Sweden (through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs) has been a Strategic Partner of Baltic Development Forum since 1998.
Strengthening the cooperation in the Baltic Sea region is an important objective of Swedish foreign policy. The current focus is on implementation of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea region and also on more results-oriented cooperation in the framework of existing collaboration formats such as the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the Northern Dimension.
Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) looks after Finland’s interests in the international community. This includes supporting democracy, good governance, human rights, equality, the rule of law, an effective market economy and sustainable development in order to create a fair world.
The welfare of the Baltic Sea Region is one of the key priorities of Finland. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland endorses cooperation in the area through various instruments. The Northern Dimension policy, the Northern Regional Councils and other forms of cooperation build bridges across the Baltic Sea. The Baltic Development Forum plays an important role as a platform which brings together the Heads of State and Government and prominent representatives of business life together in Baltic Sea Summits.
In the MFA, regional and cross border policies in the northern part of Europe are mostly dealt with in the Unit for Regional Cooperation at the Eastern Department. The unit is responsible inter alia for issues related to the Northern Dimension policy, cooperation between the Baltic Sea countries and Arctic & Barents regions. The main objective of Finland’s cooperation with its neighbouring areas is to support economic and social development in the area and to promote the preconditions of cooperation between the public authorities, business life and citizens. More information about Finland’s cooperation with neighbouring areas can be obtained from the web page of Unit for Regional Cooperation.
Nordic Council of Ministers
The Nordic Council of Ministers, formed in 1971, is the forum for Nordic governmental co-operation. The work is co-ordinated by the Nordic ministers of co-operation.Despite its name the Council of Ministers consists of several individual councils of ministers. Most of the Nordic ministers for specific policy areas meet in the council of ministers a couple of times a year. The ministers for foreign affairs and defence are exceptions, as they hold meetings outside the formal framework of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Scandinavian Airlines
SAS is the Nordic region’s largest listed airline and travel group. Besides Scandinavian Airlines, which is the core of SAS, the group also operates regional traffic within its Norwegian unit Wideroe and its Finnish unit Blue 1. SAS Group’s airlines has an extensive network in the Baltic Sea region and the rest of Europe as well as routes to and from North America and Asia. Scandinavian Airlines is a founding member of the world’s biggest airline alliance – Star Alliance™. The Group also has companies supporting airline operations, SAS Technical Services and SAS Ground Services.
Siemens
For over 150 years, Siemens has been active in the Baltic States. Siemens has been synonymous with international focus and worldwide presence for over 160 years.
Today, Siemens is a global powerhouse with activities in nearly 190 regions, which enables us to offer customers fast, local, tailor-made solutions. And that gives us a decisive competitive edge. Our portfolio is geared to attractive growth markets. A steadily growing demand for energy, increasing water consumption, and the ever-greater need for high-quality, affordable healthcare are all issues that are shaping our world.
As an integrated technology company, we offer a wide range of future-oriented solutions to meet these challenges.
VINNOVA
VINNOVA (The Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems) is a State authority that aims to promote growth and prosperity throughout Sweden. Our particular area of responsibility comprises innovations linked to research and development. Our tasks are to fund the needs-driven research required by a competitive business and industrial sector and a flourishing society, and to strengthen the networks that are such a necessary part of this work.
The Government has assigned VINNOVA to:
- make Sweden a leading research nation in which research of high scientific quality is conducted.
- promote sustainable growth and increased employment by acting to increase competitiveness and the emergence and expansion of successful companies.
- support research and development work of the highest quality in areas such as engineering, transport, communications and working life in order to promote renewal and sustainable growth.
- stimulate Swedish participation in European and international R&D collaboration and in the exchange of experience in the field of innovation.
VINNOVA makes a clear contribution to Sweden’s development as a leading growth country.
