Valtiovarainministeri Riikka Purran puhe Saabin tehtaan avajaisissa

Valtiovarainministeri Riikka Purra puhui perjantaina 28. maaliskuuta Saabin puolustuselektroniikkatehtaan avajaisissa Tampereella.

Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests,

It is a great privilege for me to be able to speak here in Tampere at inauguration of the new factory of Saab Finland! The opening of the new manufacturing facility, here in the lovely historical city center of Tampere, for the serial production of the passive EW sensor Sirius Compact marks a new chapter in the close and productive relation, which the Saab company has for a long time had with Finland. This espe-cially holds true in the field of defence, where Saab has co-operated with the Finn-ish Defence Forces since the Second World War.

Sirius Compact has been well received by international markets and is one of the prime examples of technological innovation in which Saab has excelled in recent years. Saab Technology Center in Tampere opened its doors back in 2018 and has since then experienced a rapid growth in size. The center’s emphasis on research and development in the field of electronic warfare caters to the need of cutting-edge so-lutions in an area of defence, where things are happening at an immense speed worldwide. The innovational ability of Saab Finland is demonstrated by the fact that the product development of Sirius Compact was mainly done in the technology center in Tampere. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The geopolitical developments of the past few years have shaken Europe to the core.   
We are once again witnessing high-intensity warfare on this continent not seen since the days of the Second World War. At the same time on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean a political shift is happening, which forces Europe to take more responsibil-ity of its own security. For decades the economic power of European nations hasn’t translated into European strength in world affairs. Too many European states have let their defence capabilities weaken or even, to be honest, collapse in the naïve be-lief, that Americans will always come to rescue Europe, if needed. In this new secu-rity policy environment Finland stands as an example for high military prepared-ness. As a country that has always remembered its difficult geographical and geopo-litical position. But even for Finland, there’s much we still need to do. We have to invest massive amounts of money to out own defence, resilience and strategic secu-rity. It is this government which needs to lead. We are improving our public financ-es, which is also a security issue. We are making reforms, which should have been made decades ago. And, in all occasions, we are taking care of our security, includ-ing inside the state and between the states, not to forget all other contexts of threats in today’s world. 

There is a great growth potential for the Finnish defence industry after the decision by EU-countries to ramp up their military budgets significantly in the coming years. Beside the increased production of ammunition, weapons and military vehicles, Eu-ropeans need the necessary tools to be effective in electronic warfare. Europe must stay one step ahead of its adversaries in this technological race, if we want to protect our democratic society and the way of life. With its current product line-up, which highly correspond to the market needs, Saab Finland in on course to become one of the most significant defence materiel exporters in this country.

Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests,

After two challenging years of shrinking GDP, the Finnish economy is projected to grow. To maintain our economic model, we especially need more export of high value Finnish products and services. I have great confidence in Saab Finland, that in future we will witness more breakthrough innovations and products by Saab, which will not only bring more jobs and prosperity to this region, but also strengthen the position of Tampere as one of the most important military technology centres of Northern Europe. 

Congratulations, Saab Finland. I am very glad and honoured to attend this inaugu-ration celebration and open this factory. 

Thank you!