A group of Finnish councillors from the country's Etela-Savo (South Savo) region, with representatives from Finland's three main political parties are on a fact-finding mission in the Highlands this week.

Head of European affairs at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Frank Gaskell welcomed the party of 20 to HIE's headquarters in Inverness this morning (Thursday 31st August) where they were given an economic overview of the Highlands and Islands, followed by presentations on environmental issues, tourism, and the information and communications technology sector.

The Regional Council of Etela-Savo represents a rural area of Finland which is sparsely populated, with an economy reliant on environmental industries such as forestry and agriculture. The party hope their short visit to the Highlands will provide them with some solutions on how to diversify their own economy away from traditional industries to more IT-based activities, and lead to joint initiatives between Etela-Savo and HIE under the EU's Northern Periphery programme, which is due to commence next year.