Embassy of Ireland Finland

Last week the Embassy was delighted to welcome Professor Imelda Maher from UCD Sutherland School of Law to Finland. Professor Maher first gave a presentation to the Irish Business Club (IBC) in Finland on the EU Competitiveness Compass. We would like to thank the IBC Chair Tarja Uitti for organising the event and IBC members for the questions and comments during the Q&A session following Professor Maher’s presentation. From Helsinki, Professor Maher travelled to Turku for the Eurooppa-foorumi – Europe Forum. The Europe Forum is an annual event that promotes open dialogue between citizens and policymakers on the future of Europe and Finland's role in the European Union. Professor Maher was one of the panellists on the “Europe in the New World Order” session together with Sanna Salo, Senior Researcher from Finnish Institute of International Affairs - FIIA and Kimmo Elo, Senior Lecturer from University of Eastern Finland. The session was moderated by Juha Jokela, Programme Director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs - FIIA and Inga Saikkonen, Senior Lecturer from Åbo Akademi University. The full session is available to watch on the Europe Forum YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/ddG5Wwjg The Europe Forum continues to be a place of insightful exchanges and opportunities for reflection on the challenges & opportunities ahead for the EU. In particular, it was very valuable to hear Finland’s perspectives as Ireland and the Embassy in Helsinki prepare to take up the Presidency of the EU in July 2026.

The Embassy was delighted to welcome Minster of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth TD from Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for her visit to Finland last week, in celebration of St Patrick's Day 2025. The Minister's visit involved a busy schedule of meetings across her portfolio, including a bilateral meeting with Finland's Minister for Economic Affairs and Employment Wille Rydman. Minister Smyth also met with Matteo Rossi, CTO of Finnish company Algorithmiq, which utilises quantum computing to develop solutions to complex life sciences challenges, as well as colleagues from Irish software company SoftCo, whose Procure-to-Pay Automation solution has been rolled out to 70 Finnish government agencies. Softco CEO Anton Scott and CMO Daragh Byrne and colleagues from Palkeet, Valtion talous- ja henkilöstöhallinnon palvelukeskus provided Minister Smyth with a overview of their partnership. With many thanks to colleagues from Enterprise Ireland Nordics and IDA Ireland. The visit also included a briefing at The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats where Director Teija Tiilikainen, Tapio Pyysalo and Jukka Savolainen and colleagues provided an outline of the Centre's work and of the current hybrid threat landscape, touching on critical undersea infrastructure and disinformation. Minister Smyth also visited Digi- ja väestötietovirasto (Finnish Digital Agency) where Director General Janne Viskari and Mikko Mattinen provided a presentation about Finland's process of digitalisation and the award-winning Suomi.fi digital service. Rounding off the visit to Helsinki, Minister Smyth provided remarks at the Embassy's annual St Patrick's Day reception, reflecting on her engagements during the visit and underlining the strong bonds of friendship that Ireland and Finland share.

Throwback to great Irish tech buzz in Finland! Last week #Helsinki hosted the world’s leading startup event Slush, with 13,000 visitors from around the world. 24 of Ireland's brightest start-ups and scale-ups travelled to Helsinki as part of the official Ireland @ Slush delegation, led by Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. The Embassy was delighted to host everyone who travelled at an networking evening at the Residence. Thank you to Hannah Fraser Charlie O'Donoghue and your teams for a great #TeamIreland collaboration! We were also proud to witness DevAlly, a startup that streamline the accessibility process for companies, to pitch on stage for the prestigious Slush 100 Competition. Congratulations to CEO Cormac Chisholm, Co-Founders Patrick Guiney-Fox Darren Britton and the whole team for reaching the Top 3! More on: https://lnkd.in/d7hGSMe7 Well done to all the Irish companies that travelled to snowy slushy Helsinki last week! It was inspiring to see the huge energy and ambition from everyone. Looking forward to Slush 2025 already! Photos by: Eino Ansio Equal1 l VRAI l Manna Drone Delivery l Coroflo l Lua Health l Chirp l Galvia AI l Vaultree l Numra l EVERYANGLE l W4 Games l Konree Innovation l Ardanis l Cytidel l Provizio l Binarii Labs l Tracworx l Outmin l Oblivious l CitySwift l Sonalake l Spanish Point Technologies l RDI Hub

One week to go until 5,500 startups and 3,300 investors gather in Helsinki for world's leading startup event Slush. The Embassy is delighted to welcome Hannah Fraser and her team at Enterprise Ireland Nordics, colleagues from IDA Ireland and a record number of 24 Irish companies to Helsinki next week! Great to see such a positive coverage of the event and Irish delegation in the Irish media already 👇 https://lnkd.in/d_MsKuPi https://lnkd.in/dekzD5mj https://lnkd.in/dihU5hbm https://lnkd.in/dcCpGYtP https://lnkd.in/eBVEeNgf

It is a pleasure for us to welcome Lauren McLaughlin as our new Deputy Head of Mission here at the Embassy of Ireland Finland in #Helsinki. “I’m delighted to be taking up the role of Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy in Helsinki, after spending the past two and a half years at HQ in Dublin. I am very much looking forward to contributing to the Embassy Team and working with Team Ireland colleagues in furthering the warm bilateral relationship between Ireland and Finland. I am also very excited to explore this beautiful country and experience everything that Finland has to offer.” Please join us in welcoming Lauren! ☘ Tervetuloa Suomeen Lauren! Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland Enterprise Ireland Nordics Bord Bia - The Irish Food Board Tourism Ireland IDA Ireland

Throwback to last Friday when the Embassy had a pleasure to host Design Diplomacy event as part of the Helsinki Design Week. Design Diplomacy is a unique concept by HDW that produce intimate conversations in embassy residencies around Helsinki. We were delighted to host Irish lecturer and historian Dr. Linda King from Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology and Finnish furniture designer Tatu Laakso for an entertaining and insightful card game and wonderful discussion on their design lives. Thank you also for Anni Korkman from Helsinki Design Week for moderating the event. After the card came we were privileged to have Mary Mullin to share the amazing story of the Kilkenny Design Workshops from their creation to date. Thank you also to Tom Watts from the Design & Crafts Council Ireland for attending and sharing future plans for Irish-Finnish design co-operation. Next steps of the collaboration will happen already in November during the Irish Design Week. Next year the Kilkenny Design Workshops celebrate 60th anniversary of its opening. Finnish Kaj Franck was a member of the team that compiled the "Scandinavian Report", which led to the establishment of the KDW. The Embassy together with its design partners continue to mark the occasion and Irish-Finnish design connections so stay tuned for more information. In the meantime we encourage you to check out the virtual exhibition that explores the history of the Kilkenny Design Workshops. https://lnkd.in/eC9Bb9Gk Special mention also to Richy Virahsawmy of Eatery Alex 1917 for creating the most beautiful and tasty canapés for our event!

Ambassador Paul Sherlock presented his letters of credence to the President of the Republic of Finland Alexander Stubb on 3 September 2024. Following a performance of the Irish national anthem and an inspection of the guard of honour, President Stubb and Ambassador Sherlock discussed shared interests and the warm bilateral relationship between the two countries. Congratulations and welcome to Finland Ambassador Sherlock! Photos: Matti Porre / Office of the President of the Republic of Finland Department of Foreign Affairs, Ireland Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Delighted to welcome Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD to Finland this week 🇮🇪 🤝 🇫🇮 Important discussions on the security and defence issues that define our times and Europe’s future with visits to the Border Guard HQ, Finland’s National Cyber Security Centre and the Hybrid CoE. The Minister expressed Ireland’s ongoing solidarity with our Finnish partners who face instrumentalised migration, cyberattacks and hybrid threats. The visit was a great opportunity to also discuss EU affairs with Minister for European Affairs and Ownership Steering, Mr Joakim Strand, including the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), Competitiveness and Rule of Law issues as Ireland looks ahead to holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026. Thank you to our partners in Finland for their excellent cooperation and engagement 🙏 Very thankful also to Executive Director of the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), Dr Sharon McGuinness, who provided important insights and perspectives on EU jobs and the important role ECHA plays in Europe. Joakim Strand | Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland | Rajavartiolaitos - Gränsbevakningsväsendet - The Finnish Border Guard | The European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats | NCSC-FI | European Chemicals Agency | Sharon McGuinness

Hybrid CoE was happy to welcome Ireland's Minister of State for EU Affairs and Defence Jennifer Carroll MacNeill for a visit. Thank you very much for a pleasant discussion! Embassy of Ireland Finland