EastCham Finland (EastCham Finland kauppakamariyhdistys ry.) is a non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote companies' business and competitiveness as well as economic relations in Ukraine, Central Asia and Southern Caucasus. [1] [2] [3]
EastCham Finland is headquartered in Helsinki. It has offices also in Almaty, Kazakhstan and Kyiv, Ukraine. [2] [4] [5] [6]
Trade between Finland and Russia became closely integrated from 1809, when the Grand Duchy of Finland was part of the Russian Empire. Despite this, there were customs between Finland and Russia, and Finland had its own currency, the Finnish markka. Trade between Finland and Russia increased after the completion of the railway between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg. In 1910, Finland's exports to Russia accounted for 27.4 percent. During World War I, exports were 44 percent in 1914 and 92.3 percent in 1916. Finland's export economy supported the empire's war efforts. [7]
The Russian Revolution in 1917, the collapse of the Russian Empire, and Finland's independence interrupted trade. Trade negotiations between Finland and the Soviet Union were difficult in the 1920s because the countries' economic and legal systems differed. In the 1920s, Finland's exports accounted for three percent, and in the 1930s, less than one percent. [7]
In the 1920s, the Soviet Union opened a trade representation in Finland, which aimed to promote trade between the two countries. Ulkomaankauppaliitto (The Finnish Foreign Trade Union) encouraged Finnish companies to enter the Soviet market. [7]
After World War II, trade between the countries revived. The Finnish-Soviet Chamber of Commerce (Suomalais-neuvostoliittolainen kauppakamari) was founded in 1946. Finland's exports to the Soviet Union were at their peak in 1981, when the export share was 27 percent. The Soviet Union remained Finland's largest export market until the collapse of the Soviet Union. [8] [9]
In 1992, the chamber changed its name to the Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce (FRCC) (Suomalais-Venäläinen kauppakamariyhdistys ry.) Trade between Finland and Russia recovered after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Finland's exports to Russia were at their highest in 2008. At that time, Russia became Finland's largest export destination. [10]
According to statistics, in 2008 Finnish exports to Russia totaled around 7.6 billion euros, accounting for nearly 12 percent of Finland's goods exports. This marked a peak period before a subsequent decline due to the global financial crisis and other factors. [10]
Finland's former Prime Minister Esko Aho served as the chairman of the FRCC from 2013 to 2019. [2] [11] [12]
In 2020, the chamber had offices in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg. [13]
The war in Ukraine began in 2022. The Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce advised Finnish companies on complying with economic sanctions. The Chamber helped Finnish businesses withdraw from the Russian market. The sanctions undermined the foundation of the Chamber’s operations, which is why it changed its name to EastCham Finland and decided to focus on new target countries in 2022. [14] [15] [16]
Russia declared EastCham Finland as an undesirable organization in September 2023. [17] [18]
EastCham Finland's target countries are Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. [19]
