At the “Nordic Solutions for Green Transition” conference in Bucharest, H.E. Leena Liukkonen, Ambassador of Finland to Romania and the Republic of Moldova, delivered an insightful intervention that reflected both Finland’s quiet diplomacy and its deep commitment to cooperation through shared values, education, and trust.
A culture of cooperation — from Bucharest to Chișinău
Ambassador Liukkonen pointed to several recent examples of Nordic collaboration in Romania and beyond, underscoring the continuity and depth of joint engagement. “We have great examples both in Romania and beyond of cooperation that we’ve had so far,” she said, recalling a recent event organized in Chișinău — a special achievement given that Finland does not currently have an embassy there. “We had a wonderful event there in the spring,” she noted, adding that new projects are already underway in the Republic of Moldova as part of Finland’s regional efforts.
Her remarks also reflected the close coordination among the Nordic embassies in Bucharest. “Here, the embassy representatives and ambassadors meet regularly so we can kind of see what kind of joint projects we can have together, where our teamwork and our common values can be represented together,” she said.
Education and critical thinking — a Finnish export of values
Turning to Finland’s national priorities, Ambassador Liukkonen reaffirmed the country’s enduring focus on education — a policy area that continues to inspire international admiration and collaboration. “One of the things that nationally we are very interested in is education,” she said.
She referred to the Enchanting Aurora Festival, a recent cultural and educational event hosted in Bucharest earlier this year. “We had several panels of interesting topics that were discussed there, and I can tell you that one of the things that we are very interested in is education. We had a wonderful panel that dealt with critical thinking in education. I think these days we all need quite a lot of critical thinking.”
Her reflection resonated deeply with the conference’s broader purpose — to connect innovation and sustainability with the mindset and values that make them possible. In a time of rapid transformation and disinformation, her call for critical thinking emerged as a powerful statement about what enables a resilient and forward-looking society.
The “Nordic Solutions for Green Transition” conference, financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers and organized jointly by the Royal Danish Embassy, the Embassy of Finland, the Consulate of Iceland, the Embassy of Sweden, and the Norwegian Embassy in Bucharest — with the support of Energynomics — brought together policymakers, business leaders, technology providers, and representatives of civil society to explore pathways for collaboration on green energy.