It was a privilege to be part of the Presidential High‑Level Business Delegation to Prague month ago in May 2026.
The visit offered inspiring perspectives and excellent dialogue around future cooperation – particularly in healthcare system modernisation, hospital planning, and digital health solutions. A few personal reflections from the week:
- Outstanding keynote speeches delivered by President Alexander Stubb, President Petr Pavel, and a number of other high‑level speakers set a strong, forward‑looking tone for the entire delegation.
- The overall atmosphere was open, positive, and constructive – at the Business Forum, in sectorial meetings, and during informal exchanges, including the Networking Reception at the Residence of the Ambassador of Finland. Warm thanks to Ambassador Pasi Tuominen for hosting such a meaningful and well‑curated occasion.
- We held three roundtable discussions focusing on healthcare system modernisation, with particular emphasis on hospital planning, service models, and the role of digitalisation, as well as on building concrete cooperation between Finnish and Czech organisations.
- A particularly valuable highlight was the meeting at the Ministry of Health, led by Minister Adam Vojtěch and Minister Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, where discussions covered current reform initiatives, development priorities, and lessons learned from the Finnish healthcare reform – including experiences related to large‑scale hospital investments and digital transformation.
The need for healthcare system modernisation is evident across countries. Finland has implemented major reforms and, in many areas, is clearly ahead – especially when it comes to integrated service models, hospital infrastructure planning, and the systematic use of digital solutions. There is strong international interest not only in best practices, but also in learning from real‑world experiences, including openly sharing what has worked well and what could have been done better.
The presidential delegation provided an excellent platform to build networks with key Finnish and Czech decision‑makers, spanning government, public and private hospital leadership, and healthcare industry executives.
For me, the discussions clearly reinforced that the themes Nordic Healthcare Group (NHG) has been working on in Finland and across the Nordics for many years – healthcare system reform, hospital planning, investment decision‑making, and digitalisation – are highly relevant internationally. NHG’s combination of system‑level insight, hands‑on implementation experience, and independence makes us a genuinely compelling partner also beyond our home markets.
A sincere thank you to all fellow delegation members and to our Czech counterparts for the open and insightful conversations – and special thanks to the organising team (Erna Kare, Mika Lautanala, Tuomas Asunmaa) for an exceptionally well‑run programme with truly relevant participants throughout.
Photos: Matti Porre/Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
