Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner will be meeting with her ministerial colleagues from Estonia and the Nordic countries in Muonio, Northern Finland, on 1 February. The Ministers will be discussing opportunities for cooperation in the area of digital transport services.
This high level meeting will be attended by Estonia's Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Kristen Michal, Sweden's Minister for Infrastructure Anna Johansson, Norway's Deputy Transport Minister Tom Cato Karlsen, Denmark's Deputy Permanent Secretary Soren Wille and Slovenia's Minister for Infrastructure Peter Gašperšič.
The meeting will be held in Muonio in connection with the Aurora Symposium, which is taking place in the same location with Minister Berner as the main speaker. Currently underway in Finnish Lapland is the construction of a world-class Arctic test area for smart transport and automated driving. The Symposium will seek to map out opportunities for cooperation that could concretely move forward this Aurora project. In addition to decision-makers, a number of industry representatives, potential partners, developers and researchers will be attending the event.
'Robotisation and automatisation are essential components of the transport of the future. I am very pleased that we in Finland can show ourselves to be forerunners in this area and can make possible the testing of automated driving systems in Arctic conditions', Minister Berner said.
The Ministers will be primarily discussing digital transport services, but compatible ticket systems and new transport funding models are also on the agenda.
'The transport sector is currently undergoing a huge transformation and we need not only a truly new way of thinking and new operating models but also close cooperation with neighbouring countries. No-one is able to build a smart transport system on their own', Minister Berner stated.
'Transport is a service which places the client at the centre. The smart transport of the future will be safe, reliable, and easily accessible. I hope that in this seminar we will see truly new ideas rising up as well as opportunities for cooperation in which we can together develop transport to be a better service', Minister Berner added.
Discussions on the Aurora Symposium can be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #snowbox.
Further information:
Ms Laura Eiro, Director of Unit, tel. +358 295 34 2668, Twitter @EiroLaura
Ms Veera Kojo, Senior Officer for Legal Affairs, tel. +358 295 34 2382
