Visit of the Delegation of the Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government to Finland

During the stay in Helsinki, Minister Paunović met with Finland’s Minister for Local and Regional Government, Anna-Kaisa Ikonen. The meeting focused on digitalization processes, improving fast and efficient services for citizens, developing human resource potential, and increasing the involvement of young people in public administration.

At the headquarters of the Government of Finland, a special seminar was organized presenting Finnish experiences in building an efficient system of public services for citizens and one-stop administrative centers. This was also an opportunity to discuss concrete possibilities for cooperation and the exchange of experience in this field.

Minister Paunović and the delegation also visited the city of Vantaa, where, in a meeting with Mayor Pekka Timonen, an initiative was launched to establish a sister-city partnership between Surčin and Vantaa. The planned cooperation aims to encourage the development of local governance, infrastructure projects, cultural exchange, and economic activities, while opening space for knowledge exchange and potential investments.

The Minister and the delegation visited the headquarters of the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities as well, where they met with Chief Legal Counsel Ms. Ida Sulin to discuss the work of the institution and the structure of the network of municipalities, cities, and regions in Finland.

During the visit to Finland, the Serbian delegation also had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Atanas Aleksovski, a member of the parliament of the Finnish region of Pirkanmaa and a member of the Tampere City Council, which provided an opportunity to discuss possibilities for establishing connections and cooperation with relevant local self-governments in Serbia.

The visit was organized in cooperation with the Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA).