From problem to potential
Niklas Nordström, former Municipal Commissioner of Luleå and now Senior Advisor at Egenmakt AB, took Norrbotten’s transformation as a starting point.
The mining crisis of the 1980s was brutal, but the old image of a region as one in constant crisis persisted long after the tide had turned. This affected how Norrbotten was perceived by the political environment, the outside world and the financial markets.
According to Nordström, the transformation was based on three things: facts, alliances and an international context. The region developed a knowledge base that was difficult to dispute, established the N6 collaboration with other regions in northern Sweden to create a common northern voice and linked its development to the Arctic agenda.
When Norrbotten began to be described as a strategic node in a larger context, rather than as a remote part of the country, the perception of the region in Stockholm and Brussels also changed.
The same mechanism is also relevant for the Kvarken region. The assets already exist, but they need to be put together into a narrative that reaches the forums where investment and infrastructure decisions are made.
During the day, Merja Kyllönen also returned to the need to build a stronger Nordic narrative together in order to make the region more relevant on the international stage.
Niklas Nordström discussed cross-border business.
A cross-border centre of force
Jan Wejdmark, Head of Strategic Sales at Newsec Sweden, presented Ostrobothnia and Västerbotten as the “Greater Kvarken” – a cross-border region whose combined economic and industrial strength is not always visible on the map.
“We are currently living in one of the strongest regions in Europe”, Wejdmark said.
He highlighted the region’s economic weight, knowledge environments, natural resources and industrial clusters. On both sides of the Kvarken, there are internationally active companies, strong universities and 60-70,000 students with expertise in energy, manufacturing and the green transition, among other fields.
Västerbotten contributes large-scale green industry and circular business models, while Ostrobothnia has a strong cluster in renewable energy and energy technology. Together, the regions complement each other in ways that create greater opportunities than if they were developed individually.
At the same time, Sweden’s and Finland’s NATO memberships have given the region a new strategic dimension. The east-west transport routes connecting the Norwegian Atlantic coast with Sweden and Finland have become increasingly important for both civilian security of supply and military mobility.
Jan Wejdmark’s presentation title was: Growth potential in the Kvarken region creates Nordic added value.
Integration can start already now
Helene Hellmark Knutsson, County Governor of Västerbotten County, emphasized that cross-border cooperation does not have to wait for a fixed connection across the Kvarken.
The Öresund region shows that integration can be built long before a bridge is in place. Once a fixed link is opened, it will in turn reinforce and multiply the effects of cooperation that is already in place.
The Kvarken region can work in the same way. This includes reducing border barriers, creating a common labour market and facilitating the mobility of people, businesses and skills.
Hellmark Knutsson highlighted the region’s access to green and stable energy as an important competitive advantage. But energy and raw materials alone are not enough to create long-term population growth. The region also needs knowledge-intensive services, business start-ups and attractive living environments that make people want to move here and stay.
She particularly highlighted the importance of women for the region’s future. Approximately 60 per cent of the Kvarken region’s 60,000–70,000 students are women. To retain their skills, the region needs a broader labour market with more qualified jobs, not least in the knowledge and service sectors.
“If we do not succeed in creating such a labour market, we risk losing one of the region’s most important assets”, she stressed.
At the same time, she raised a red flag over the fact that new border barriers often arise during crises and then become permanent. This requires active and long-term work on both sides of the Kvarken.
Helene Hellmark Knutsson spoke about the future of the Kvarken region and how we can achieve an even more integrated border region.
A policy proposal for increased mobility
Antti Kurvinen, Member of the Finnish Parliament, ended the day with a concrete proposal: to investigate the possibility of establishing a special economic zone, a so-called SEZ, in the Kvarken region. Such a zone could be used to test more flexible regulation and reduce obstacles related to business establishment, permits, transport and mobility, among other areas. Kurvinen called for joint regional efforts to take the proposal forward.
After the seminar, Mathias Lindström, Director of the Kvarken Council, welcomed the initiative and confirmed that the Kvarken Council is following the issue, which will be considered in the Kvarken Council’s upcoming strategy work. At the same time, he linked the proposal to the broader discussion during the day about the region’s opportunities:
“The region has the industry, the expertise and the strategic location. What is needed is stronger infrastructure and integration to tie together the assets that already exist”, Lindström summed up.
Antti Kurvinen, Member of the Finnish Parliament, ended the seminar.
During the seminar, two new analyses were also presented within the Interreg Aurora co-funded FLINC project. One examines how the Nordic Connector can be financed. The other analyses the transport system in the northern Nordic region from a military mobility and preparedness perspective.
Together, the reports provide concrete answers to two questions that ran throughout the seminar: what would a fixed link contribute – and what is required to make it a reality. Read more about the two reports in separate articles.
Facts:
The seminar was organized by the Kvarken Council EGTC within the framework of the FLINC project, together with the Finnish-Swedish Chamber of Commerce, during the Wasa Future Festival on 13 August, 2026. A total of 290 people attended the seminar. It was moderated by Sarah Väre, Growth Manager at the Kvarken Council EGTC.
FLINC, Financing Large-scale Infrastructure – Case Nordic Connector, is a project co-financed by Interreg Aurora and led by the Kvarken Council EGTC. The project produces a knowledge base on financing, regional effects, military mobility and security of supply in connection to the Nordic Connector. The results can also be used in work on other large cross-border infrastructure projects.
Links
- Watch the full seminar on YouTube
- Presentation material from the seminar HERE
- Read more about the FLINC project HERE
- Article 1 – Stronger connections for a safer and more competitive Nordic Region: HERE
- Article 3 – New analysis shows the conditions for financing Nordic Connector: HERE
- Article 4 – New security analysis identifies bottlenecks in the northern Nordic region: HERE
