International Mission to Nordic Countries Focuses on CleanTech & Maritime Industries

Our region shares deep cultural and business ties with Scandinavia. This week we joined Governor Inslee and the Washington State Department of Commerce, as well as key partners such as Alaska Airlines, Maritime Blue, Microsoft, Port of Seattle, University of Washington and Washington State University on an international mission to expand upon our foreign direct investment and international trade relationships with Norway, Sweden and Finland.

In addition to meetings with U.S. Embassies in Helsinki and Oslo, President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö, U.S. Ambassador to Sweden, Ambassador Erik Ramanathan, and representatives across business, government and academia, the delegation will visit:

• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, one of Finland’s largest research institutions, created to advance utilization of and commercialization of research and technology in commerce and society. 
• KTH Royal Institute and the Wallenberg Wood Science Center in Stockholm, a research center with a focus on new materials from trees. 
• Maritime Competence Center in Aalesund, Norway, a high-tech business cluster.
• Oceantech Innovation, Trondheim to explore technology designed to support offshore wind, aquaculture transport, and maritime industries.

The Greater Seattle region is home to approximately 87 companies from Norway, Sweden and Finland including Nokia, Skanska and Wallenius Wilhelmsen. Total trade between us in 2021 exceeded $350 million.

Together, we are focused on developing real-world solutions for growing the green economy, and we know we have much to gain from this strategic visit.

More details from our partners here:

• Washington State: Energy and industry lead priorities for upcoming Washington trade delegation to Nordic countries
• Port of Seattle: Trade Mission to Focus on Renewable Energy and Maritime Innovation

Our deep connections

Here in Greater Seattle along the waterfront at Shilshole Marina stands the Leif Erikson statue, which was a gift to Seattle from the Norwegian American community and originally unveiled during the Seattle World’s Fair in June 1962. It stands not far from the National Nordic Museum. Founded in 1979, this museum is the only institution of its size and scale in the United States to present the history and culture of the entire Nordic region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the regions of the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Åland, and the cultural region of Sápmi) and the legacy of Nordic immigrants to the United States.

As a group, Scandinavians (Danes, Finns, Icelanders, Norwegians, and Swedes) are one of the largest—if not the largest—immigrant groups in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard. While Leif Erikson, the first recorded European to set foot on American shores, represents all immigrants who travel to new lands for freedom, opportunity and a future of hope, the tribute is for the Scandinavian-American community.