Polish president urges innovation, praises Finnish model

Duda was speaking at a business forum in Helsinki, Finland, where he met innovators from both countries.

The Helsinki business forum was part of Duda’s three-day trip to Finland for talks on foreign policy and security as well as business opportunities.

"The innovativeness of an economy is a measure of the effectiveness of politicians and state leaders because policy makers are responsible for building a friendly legal, logistic, financial and research environment for businesses, both those technologically advanced and those that are just starting up their operations," Duda said in Helsinki.

He praised Finland for being one of the world’s most innovative nations and said that Poland was also working to create an environment enabling innovation.

He referred to an ambitious strategy for economic development crafted by Polish Deputy Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and his own presidential “Start in Poland” programme, which was launched last year and which, according to Duda, is the largest such initiative in Central and Eastern Europe.

While in Helsinki, Duda on Wednesday met Finland's Finance Minister Petteri Orpo, who said that his country was largely driven by innovation and that its prosperity depended on being competitive in international trade.

On Tuesday, Duda, accompanied by a group of Polish start-up business operators whom he had brought with him to Finland, visited the Aalto Startup Center, a leading European innovation incubator at Helsinki’s Aalto University.

(gs/pk)

Source: IAR, PAP