The Regional Government, through the Society for the Business Development of the Azores (SDEA) and in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores, sponsors a business mission to Finland and Russia between September 7 and 13.

This initiative follows the Finnish business mission to the Azores that took place in November 2012. It will be carried with the primarily goal of continuing the contracts already signed between the companies involved and providing new business opportunities between Azorean businesspeople and entrepreneurs from Finland and Russia.

The mission will include 14 companies from the agri-food, tourism and information technologies sectors, a financial institution as well as representatives of SDEA and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores.

The mission's programme features bilateral meetings, presentation of projects, visits to several institutions, signing of protocols and participation in conferences.

Finland and Russia are relatively new markets for Azorean companies, despite the export of some conducts to these markets, particularly from the agri-food sector. The Azores regard Finland as a gateway for a huge market such as Russia as well as for the Eastern European market, which are yet to be explored.

For the Regional Government, the strategy to promote regional products requires differentiation in terms of production and final quality, the promotion of partnerships and the exchange of know-how between companies to foster the development of new business initiatives.

This mission is also part of the series of measures to promote exports and the development of the Region provided in the Azorean Agenda for Employment Creation and Business Competitiveness.