Saturday, May 18, 2013


Finland ponders helping Zambia go green
By Gift Chanda
Fri 17 May 2013, 14:00 CAT

FINLAND says it is seeking ways of helping Zambia move towards embracing green economy.

Finnish Ambassador to Zambia Pertti Anttinen said yesterday that there was need for Zambia to move towards embracing green economy because its emerging economy was increasing the demand for new and sustainable solutions in natural resource development, renewable energies as well as green building.

The concept of green economy focuses primarily on the intersection between the environment and economy.

Ambassador Anttinen said Finland wants to explore ways it could assist Zambia promote this concept of sustainable development.

He disclosed that a delegation of private sector players and government officials would next week arrive in the country to seek ways of forging ties towards a green Zambian economy.

Ambassador Anttinen said Finnish Minister of International Development Heidi Hautala and Alexander Stubb, Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade, would also be part of the delegation to attend what is called the Zambian-Finnish Business Partnership week aimed at deepening Finnish business engagement in Zambia's green economy.

Ambassador Anttinen said the green economy concept was important for both Zambia and Finland due to its immense benefits which include creation of sustainable jobs.

He also emphasized the need to diversify the Zambian economy to promote trade with other countries.

Ambassador Anttinen said the economic woes of western economies would entail taking a different approach towards assistance to Africa.

"The trend lately has been countries moving towards promoting trade while limiting ODA Official Direct Aid," Ambassador Anttinen said, adding that, "During the meeting, business firms from Finland will find ways on how they can forge ties to promote more trade with their Zambian counterparts."

The Zambia-Finnish Business Partnership week will run from today to Wednesday next week.


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Tuesday, February 05, 2013

PF govt in right direction - Anttinen

PF govt in right direction - Anttinen
By Fridah Nkonde
Tue 05 Feb. 2013, 15:40 CAT

FINNISH Ambassador to Zambia Pertti Anttinen has expressed confidence that the government will deliver development to the poorest in society. In an interview, Ambassador Anttinen said it was evident that the government is trying its best to ensure that the needs of ordinary people are addressed. He said the issue of inequality needed to be addressed by the government at all costs.

"Issues of inequality is the biggest the Zambian government needs to address. The issue of ensuring that resources trickle down to everyone in society is very tricky. I think the issue of rural and urban areas in Zambia has somehow contributed to the issue of resources failing to get to everybody in society. Poverty is mostly prevailing in the rural areas of Zambia," Ambassador Anttinen said.

He said the PF and its government were in the right direction in as far as ensuring that resources trickle down to everyone in society was concerned.

"They are in the right direction. If we look at the current budget, the amount of money spent on social services and education, we can all see that there has been an increase. These are the things that should be addressed," Ambassador Anttinen said.

He said he was confident that things will change in Zambia, adding that the government was doing everything possible to address many challenges.

Ambassador Anttinen said there was also need to ensure that most people in the country were skilled to prevent a situation where many of them find it very difficult to get formal employment.

"People who are skilled are more likely to be employed, as compared to those that are not. Creation of jobs can also help the economy to grow. Government should also make agriculture more efficient so as to benefit those in rural areas," said Ambassador Anttinen.

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