Green economy, maritime innovation and wireless technology are some of the issues on this week’s agenda because Annie Ken Crutnis, The Norwegian ambassador to the United States and her Finnish ambassador, Mikhotala, Visited the Seattle area.
Both parties are seeking to lay the foundation for commercial and political cooperation between their respective countries and Washington State. During the visit, everyone spent time with various business, government and community leaders.
Crutness Meet with Microsoft’s environmental and cyber security leaders, Spend time A student of the University of Washington, with Visit Tacoma to discuss electric ferries As part of the focus on green technology.
Howtala visits Tacoma to discuss plans 5G wireless edge computing network, Touring Port facilitiesAnd found unique signs Entrepreneurship in Finland.
The ambassadors also appeared together on Monday National Nordic Museum In the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, the city’s traditional Scandinavian enclave, questions about environmental issues, economic development, and political relations between the United States and its country.it is Part of the museum’s Nordic innovation series. Watch the full video above.
State-backed cyber attacks: In addition to their common interest in economic development, each ambassador has a unique perspective on cyber security.
Krutnes is a member of a United Nations organization Recently released a report on cybersecurity, Focusing on solutions to state-supported cyber attacks.
Hautara previously served as the ambassador of Russia, the neighboring country of eastern Finland, and it is widely believed that he is responsible for solar wind damage and other attacks.
In a separate interview with GeekWire, each ambassador expressed cautious optimism about the potential for state-sponsored cyber attacks to make progress.
“All major economies, including Russia, are increasingly relying on this digital infrastructure,” Hautara said. “So this means that everyone is vulnerable. So I think it will give the country and the government some incentive to regulate these activities. … I think it becomes difficult for everyone. “
Crutness said that compared with the past, world leaders seem to have more awareness of the seriousness of the problem.
“This is not a domestic issue. This is a global issue,” she said. “So you have to cooperate with allies.”
Nokia and Microsoft: In our interview, I couldn’t help asking Howtala what he thought of Microsoft after Nokia’s fiasco.
Nokia used to be a major manufacturer of mobile phones and the crown jewel of the Finnish technology industry. In 2011, it established an unfortunate partnership with Microsoft’s Windows Phone business and then sold its smartphone business to Redmond Technology in 2014. The giant, but it turned out that Microsoft dismantled a deal a year later.
In response, Hautara showed his experience as a diplomat.
“I am a Darwinist, and in a sense, what happened was due to certain flaws in Nokia’s corporate culture,” Hautara said. “The key figures of that era, that era have explained this extensively. Therefore, if you make mistakes, they usually cannot be undone. I am not against any company.”
Nokia is still a major technology company, focusing on telecommunications and mobile phone brand licensing.
America on the world stage: One of the best questions during the event of the National Nordic Museum was the audience Q&A session with Karen Holder, a student at Inglemore High School in Kenmore, Washington. He is committed to Nordic news studentIn view of the potential for the government to overturn these commitments in the future, he asked the ambassadors to address the international community’s concerns about the ability to trust the United States’ long-term commitments.
Hautara said that it is natural for domestic consideration to influence foreign policy, noting that the United States is not uncommon in this regard, and explaining that the ambassador’s job is to anticipate these changes.
Crutness’s concise answer won rounds of applause from the audience: “We are very happy to see the United States return to the world stage,” she said. “Then I won’t talk about it.”