{"id":22375,"date":"2025-02-26T11:48:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T08:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kvarken.org\/?p=22375"},"modified":"2025-02-26T12:00:20","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T09:00:20","slug":"chairmans-greeting-together-for-a-stronger-kvarken-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kvarken.org\/en\/chairmans-greeting-together-for-a-stronger-kvarken-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Chairman&#8217;s Greeting \u2013 Together for a Stronger Kvarken Region"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The past year has been marked by decisive progress in the east-west connections in the Northern Nordics. The importance of further strengthening infrastructure from a regional, Nordic, and European perspective was emphasised during the V\u00e4sterbotten at Grand H\u00f4tel event in January\u202f2024. The Nordic Connector initiative, which aims to develop a fixed connection across the Kvarken to further connect and strengthen the Nordic region, gained historic momentum at that time. Interest in this important future issue has remained significant throughout the year.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">In addition to infrastructure matters, the Board has decided to expand our collaboration platform by placing special focus on energy and culture. Therefore, we established two strategic working committees in\u202f2024 within energy and culture &amp; education, complementing the existing working committee on traffic and infrastructure. These thematic working groups include both members and external stakeholders, creating a unique arena where the public sector meets businesses and other interested parties. The working committees ensure that initiatives are anchored in real regional needs and serve as active recipients of project results. This system effectively captures requests and ideas from the field, ensuring that collaborative initiatives have a clear regional foundation and contribute to regional development.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Board has also worked strategically to develop the organisation\u2019s structure and working methods. The Kvarken Council\u2019s rapid growth, with several new members in recent years, places high demands on clear governance and efficient processes. This work ensures that we can meet future challenges with a strong and well-functioning organisation.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Kvarken region remains strong despite challenges in the green transition. We are well-positioned to lead future development thanks to our unique potential in renewable energy, technological innovations, and cross-border cooperation. Together, we are creating the conditions for a sustainable future that benefits both the environment and regional growth.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">I would like to thank everyone who contributes to our successful cooperation \u2013 the Kvarken Council\u2019s dedicated staff, the Board, our members, financiers, as well as the region\u2019s politicians and officials. Together, we continue to strengthen and develop the Kvarken region.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Rickard Carstedt<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Chairman, Kvarken Council EGTC<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A letter about 2024 from our Chairman Rickard Carstedt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mats Brandt, Regional Mayor at the Regional Council of Ostrobothnia and representative of the Kvarken Council, participated in Europaforum Norra Sverige in Sundsvall, Sweden, and took the opportunity to emphasize both Finland\u2019s long tradition of security of supply and the forward-looking Nordic Connector project.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The forum\u2019s theme, \u201cNorthern EU in a New Geopolitical Perspective\u201d, provided Brandt with a perfect stage to discuss how regions can play a larger role in Europe\u2019s geopolitical development. Brandt reminded that Finland\u2019s security of supply has deep historical roots dating back to the First World War.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 Iron, gunpowder, and grain \u2013 that\u2019s where it starts. We are very proud of our capacity to maintain continuity during crises, which has been proven several times throughout history, not least during the oil crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, he explained.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the central part of Brandt\u2019s presentation was dedicated to the Nordic Connector project, which he describes as a lifeline for the security and development of the region and the entire Northern Nordics.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brandt emphasized that the project offers a new dimension of cooperation and integration across regional borders. It can act as a catalyst for further collaboration and development and has the potential to radically reshape future landscapes in both the Northern Nordics and Europe.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 Through Nordic Connector, we are not only creating new trade routes and communication lines but also stronger ties between communities across regional borders, which enhances our collective resilience up here in the North, he explained.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2013 This vision of connectivity has occasionally been forgotten but is today more relevant than ever. We are facing not just an opportunity to physically connect two coasts but also to ideologically and economically integrate the northern parts of Europe, Brandt concluded.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his speech at Europaforum, Brandt emphasized the importance of continuing to promote development initiatives like these at regional, national, and European levels to ensure success and to strengthen security and development in northern Europe.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watch and listen to Mats\u2019s speech here (in Swedish): <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/DR4BFEE5lBQ\">https:\/\/youtu.be\/DR4BFEE5lBQ<\/a><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"amnen":[95,99,89,77],"class_list":["post-22375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","amnen-cooperation-structures","amnen-egtc","amnen-greeting","amnen-halsningar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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