Talents and business up-grading the way to develop the Baltic Sea Region

The future economic growth of the Region depends on its ability to upgrade high-tech and knowledge-intensive industries – and this can only be done with an increase in the labour force, said Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, Chairman of Baltic Development Forum at the opening of its 9th annual Summit.

The focus of the Baltic Development Forum Summit 2007, this year held in Tallinn, Estonia, is the need for attracting talents to the Baltic Sea Region, and the necessity for a deepened understanding of business conditions in order to safeguard a continued economic growth in the Baltic Sea Region.

– Efforts to attract and welcome highly skilled innovators, researches and entrepreneurs to the Baltic Sea Region need to be paralleled with further steps to integrate the Region and Europe as a whole. Only a strong and coherent Baltic Sea Region can meet the challenges and opportunities posed by the globalization, says Uffe Ellemann-Jensen.

During the three day long Summit (4-6 November) 440 participants representing leading businesses in the Baltic Sea Region, international organisations, government, academia and media gather to discuss and outline strategies for developing the Baltic Sea Region. Among the speakers this year are the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen and EU-Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, Executive Chairman of Swedbank Carl Eric Stålberg, National Executive Nordic Region General Electric, Hans Enocson, President & CEO of SAS Group Mats Jansson, and Esko Aho, President of SITRA and author of the European Commission Innovation Strategy. The President of Estonia, Toomas Hendrik Ilves gave a speech at the opening of the event at Estonia Concert Hall.

The Baltic Development Forum Summit is co-hosted by the Government of Estonia and Tallinn city.