Mats Jansson, Opening Sunday 4 November

 

Baltic Development Forum Summit

Tallinn, 4 November 2007


Opening address Mats Jansson

President & CEO of SAS Group


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Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen;

I am very honored to be here this afternoon in the beautiful and charming city of Tallinn.

I feel that I do not only represent my own company, The SAS group, but also to a large extent my friends and colleagues of the business community around the Baltic Sea, many of which have come to this gathering to exchange views and connect, across various sectors of industry and society.

On a personal note, although I am Swedish, I feel equally at home in all countries in the region. I have been CEO in a number of corporations with interests in several of the nations around the Baltic Sea.

I have learned to appreciate the diversity in culture and business practices, and also to see the considerable advantages when we use each others competitive strengths to the benefit of corporations, customers and communities.

Historically, the trade links across the region were carried out predominantly by ship over the Baltic sea.
However, today the importance of aviation in bringing people and businesses together cannot be overestimated.

In my current role, I am therefore particularly proud that SAS in fact was the first airline to open scheduled international services to Estonia, with flights linking Stockholm and Tallinn, just before independence. These services were pioneered 18 years ago, on the 26th of November 1989, and became a very important link between Scandinavia and Estonia.

After that, SAS also pioneered services between Copenhagen and Riga as well as Vilnius.

This subsequently created a platform for our further investments in both Air Baltic in Latvia as well as in Estonian Air.

These investments are also central to our future strategies of the group, which we launched in June this year, where we have specifically identified the Nordic region and in particular the Baltic Region as an area where we want to grow and invest, building on our strong presence in all countries bordering the Baltic Sea.

In this context it is of course very encouraging to know  that four of the 10 most competitive economies in the world are located in our Region.
Furthermore, the economic growth in many parts of the Region is significant, creating promising opportunities for the future of businesses.

Growth and investments in the region are however contingent on two important components; investments in efficient infrastructure and the removal of regulatory barriers.
In this context, it is my hope that political will and courage can be shown across borders – like we saw when the oeresund bridge was built. An excellent example for inspiration.

One of the main challenges for all of us, whether we are producers of goods or services is the issue of sustainability – a topic which also will be discussed during the summit.

We all have to take our responsibility for a sustainable development. Climate change and energy are items very high on both the political and the industrial agenda.

The Baltic Region can in this respect play an important role in setting standards for the rest of the world, due to our history and traditions in this field.
We need to transform the perceived threats into opportunities through innovation.

This is the road we have taken ourselves since several years in SAS and we intend to pursue it further in the future, both individually but also in cooperation with industrial partners and government agencies.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am very pleased to be here in Tallinn tonight and to be part of this important summit – this years' Baltic Development Forum.
I find this informal setting for dialogue between business and politics, the academic community and the press an excellent method to create a network on which we can build for further cooperation and better understanding.

A key theme in this years' "State of the Region" report, is that "Neighbors matter!"
Nothing could be more correct, and this is exactly the thinking that can create a higher degree of competitiveness and economic wellbeing for all of us.

We all play different roles, but we have a common interest and goal, to build a strong region to compete globally. We can only achieve this if we cooperate across disciplines and across borders.

Let us together make this a successful event!

Thank you very much!