OREANDA-NEWS. May 17, 2012. A Swedish delegation led by the Consul General of Sweden in Saint Petersburg Jan Nyberg arrived for a three-day visit to Karelia. Head of the Republic of Karelia Andrei Nelidov met with the guests on May, 15.

Andrei Spiridonov, representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in Petrozavodsk, and Dmitry Kislov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, also took part in the meeting.

- Karelia and Sweden have a great experience of cooperation. I hope, that this visit becomes a good impulse for development of relations between Karelia and Swedish in such important spheres as housing and communal services, power engineering, and construction. Presently, Karelia is interesting to Scandinavia, and we would like to see Sweden among the republic's most close partners, - Andrei Nelidov said opening the meeting.

Karelia and Sweden have become friends a long time ago. Cooperation of the parties in the field of public health services, social work has been supported for many years, a number of academic and research projects are implemented. In the republic there's a Swedish-Karelian information business center which activities are focused on development of small and medium business.

At the meeting Andrei Nelidov has told Jan Nyberg about priority directions of development of Karelia which could become a subject of mutual relations. First of all, matters concerned transformations in the field of housing and communal services and power engineering system. Sweden today is the universally recognized leader in introduction of power efficient technologies, and it may support Karelia a lot in this sphere. Three years ago oil products in Sweden ceased to be the main energy source. Today it is bioenergetics that is used extensively in the country to heat the houses and for the needs of transportation. Bioenergetics provides about 80% of electric power.

As Head of Karelia pointed out, in the next five years all black-oil-burning boiler-houses in the republic is expected to switch to other kinds of fuel. Head of the region has offered also the Swedish businessmen to take part in these programs so important to Karelia.

According to Jan Nyberg, Sweden is also interested in cooperation with our republic. During the visit to the region the Swedish delegation comprising representatives the companies and state institutions, first of all, intends to discuss issues of development of bioenergetics in Karelia. The Swedish colleagues are going to share their experience during the round-table discussion Potential of Swedish Companies' Participation in Projects in the Field of Bioenergetics and Switching Boiler-Houses to Biofuel in the Republic of Karelia.

"We are interested in all kinds of cooperation with the republic, from equipment deliveries to investments," - Kjell Anderson, a representative of Swedish Bioenergy Association, said.

Eric Solen, Director of AVEK Group company representing the Vasterbotten county government and NEFCO, has told that last year the company has developed a power plan for Kostomuksha which shows problems of the town's energy sector and ways of their solution. A similar project is supposed to be implemented in Suojarvi, and when it happens depends on NEFCO's financing. Head of the republic expressed his interest in the project. He has mentioned that it is planned to build a new biofuel-burning boiler-house in Suojarvi, and suggested the Swedish party to offer their recommendations and consultations.

- We intend to strengthen cooperation between our republic and Sweden. We are extremely interested to establish partnership. For my part, I promise both political, and financial support to projects implemented in the republic, - Anderi Nelidov pointed out.

Jan Nyberg, who's visiting Karelia for the first time, mentioned that the landscape and nature of the republic reminds his own northern country.