DUBAI: Imports and exports between Finland and the UAE reached a combined value of more than half-a-billion dollars in 2020, re-enforcing the need to further strengthen ties between the two countries, Finnish Ambassador Marianne Nissilä told Arab News. The combined level of business puts the UAE as the biggest trading partner with the Scandinavian country in the Gulf region.
The small municipality of Kirkkonummi, in southern Finland, can trace its history back millennia, from a medieval stone church to World War II–era bunkers. Next to that church, JKMM Architects revitalized a concrete library from the 1980’s, the result not only the IIDA’s institutional category winner but also taking home the best of competition award. “Contemporary libraries are where people get together to share knowledge and experiences,” JKMM founding partner Teemu Kurkela says. “This is why Finns today refer to them as public living rooms.”