Lehtomäki was leading a Finnish business delegation, including representatives of some 15 leading companies from the shipbuilding, automobile, chemical, construction, forestry, energy, tourism, agriculture, and transport sectors.
She said that the composition of the delegation showed the growing interest of Finnish business people in Croatia, particularly in the areas of shipbuilding, forestry and environmental protection, in which she said the two countries had either a long tradition or a strong know-how.
The minister cited a 40 per cent increase in the number of Finnish tourists who visited Croatia last year, saying that this fact could be used as a good basis for enhancing business cooperation.
Lehtomäki also said that Finland supported Croatia on its path to the European Union.
The State Secretary for the Industry at the Croatian Ministry of the Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship, Vladimir Vrankovic, said that Croatia had well-developed economic relations with Southeast European countries and that for this reason it might be interesting to its Finnish partners as a gateway to the regional markets.
Today's meeting of Croatian and Finnish business people was organised by the Finnish Embassy, the Finpro company and the Croatian Chamber of the Economy in order to introduce them to one another, attract potential investors in Croatia and improve economic cooperation.
According to figures from the Croatian National Bureau of Statistics, last year Croatia exported US$12.47 million worth of commodities to Finland while imports amounted to $52.7 million. In the first three months of this year, Croatian exports totalled $3.6 million, while imports from Finland amounted to $15.66 million.