Saudi Arabia, Finland explore private, public investments

Finland has the ability to join the Kingdom in various public and private sector ventures in the field of education, said Jari Poikonen, director of FCG Education.
Poikonen was speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of a dinner reception held at the residence of the Finnish Ambassador Jarno Syrjala on Sunday.
The envoy hosted a reception in honor of the large Finnish delegation, which is participating in the International Exhibition & Forum for Education 2013 (IEFE).
Finland is the official guest country at the event. It has sent a 70-member delegation to Riyadh, led by its State Secretary Tapio Kosunen, to showcase its achievements and share the secrets of its success story in the field of education.
Ambassador Jarno Syrjala said that a huge contingent of university professors, top academicians, government officials and private educators led by Kosunen, state secretary, had arrived in Riyadh for the event. “We are deeply honored to be the official guest country,” said the envoy, adding that the event demonstrates again the importance of education as the bedrock of development in the Kingdom.
Poikonen described Finland as a land of experts in education, who could render their experiences to fulfill the needs of the Kingdom.
He said that his group is currently involved in the Kingdom to set up an international private school in Riyadh. He said the proposed school will have the state-of-the art facilities to create a conducive learning environment for students.
The school, which is to have around 2,500 students , will cater to a multi-national community. He said his group would also give the proper planning for the teacher training, school syllabus, curriculum, school administration and also for extra-curricular activities.
“We are also looking for similar opportunities in other parts of the Kingdom to expand our services,” he noted.
Speaking about his establishment, he said FCG is a multi-expertise company that provides services in infrastructure, environmental and urban design, in multi-disciplinary training and in developing public services.
The company’s clients represent a broad range of private and public sector organizations. FCG’s main owner is the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.
In addition to Finland, FCG also has extensive international operations and we operate worldwide. FCG has subsidiaries in Sweden, Estonia, Romania, Bulgaria and New Zealand. FCG’s international operations are mainly divided into two categories: Local operations made by FCG’s subsidiaries in each country and international development consulting made by FCG’s home office in Finland, SIPU in Sweden and Anzdec in New Zealand.
“We also have close cooperation with our wide networks, like public authorities and development organizations including the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities as a close partner and main owner,” he said.
He added: “FCG International Ltd’s consulting services focus on developing organizational, social and public sector structures around the world. In these projects our strength lies in a local market presence, our solid and versatile international experience and in our highly motivated, efficient staff.”
It also provides technical assistance especially in policy analyzes and advice, organization development, human resources development and training and program and project preparation, implementation and evaluation.