Penza, 23 April 2014. PenzaNews. The governor of the Penza region Vasily Bochkarev and the minister-counsellor, the head of the department of trade and economy of the Embassy of Finland in Russia Marjo Mäki - Leppilampi discussed prospects of bilateral cooperation during the meeting held in the regional government on Wednesday, April 23.

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“Relations between Russia and Finland are very active at all levels. 600 Finnish companies are operating on the territory of the Russian Federation. Volume of investment has amounted to nearly 13 billion euros. [...] The trade turnover between the two countries is 16 billion dollars. Of course, Russian exports to Finland more than we do here. Basically it is the energy,” Marjo Mäki - Leppilampi said.

According to her, most of the Finnish companiesare operating in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but the business is interested in developing business relations with Russian regions.

Speaking about the possible options for cooperation, the minister-counsellor said that Finnish companies are willing to share the so-called “clean” and energy efficient technologies, their experience in the management of industrial and household wastes, as well as educational practices.

In turn, Vasily Bochkarev noted special interest in alternative energy sources.

According to him, in case of the arrival of the Finnish business in the Penza region in order to create such projects, the region would guarantee buying energy from these companies.

“And maybe it is cheaper to produce from the wastes rather than gas. And even if the price will constitute as the price of gas, we will still benefit because we create jobs. We are interested. This project is a reliable, long-lasting project, which allows the investor to return the invested funds,” the governor underlined.