The area of Bothnian Bay has a strong industrial history and it’s circumstances are favorable for cross-border business. The border at Tornio-Haparanda between Finland and Sweden has been so called soft border for centuries. It has enabled composing not only close social relations and a cross-border community but also flexible mobility of labor, goods and services.

The global pandemic and restrictions in mobility had negative effects to daily life of border communities. It also weakened the dynamics of cross-border cooperation. Bothnian Arc partnership themes aim at restarting and activating systematic co-operation and cross-border network after the pandemic.  

Concrete goals and actions are in two partnership themes:

1.Sustainable, cross-border traffic and functional logistic connections in Bothnian Arc

• Make the cross-border co-operation of transport system more effective and coordinated
• Promote the development of regional vision for the future for   TEN-T core network in Bothnian Arc
• Promote cross-border logistical, sustainable transport solutions, transport and travel chains and connectivity of different modes of transports
• Taking into consideration needs of both passenger and goods transport 
• Identify and promote development activities which promote use of digitalization in logistics sector aiming at reaching climate goals in travel and transport chains
• Bothnian Arc Transport Forum will be launched in 2024! 

2. Marine- and northern based tourism development in Bothnian Bay

The aim is to:

• Strenghten internal and external networks and partnerships in tourism industry and its sustainable development in Bothnian Bay area
• Improve prerequisities for creating common crossborder and sustainable tourism services and enhance accessibility of services and maritime destinations
• Enhance the role of maritime culture and cultural history in tourism content creation
• Promote the development of the area as coherent, cross-border, safety tourism destination to meet the new global trends and international demand and to support tourism and event industries to recover from pandemic

Project is financed by Ministery of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland. Project is led by the city of Oulu and Business Oulu. Partners of the project are: Finnish-Swedish Bothnian Arc -association, The Council of Oulu Region, Visit Oulu and Metsähallitus.