He told YLE's discussion programme A-Plus that Finland should aggressively recruit foreign workers.
"In the first place, it would definitely help our labour shortage problems. Also, in this modern world it would benefit our youth to grow up in a multicultural society," Liikanen said.
He feels that Finland is falling behind other countries in capitalizing on the potential of immigrant labour.
"One of the strengths of Sweden's economy is the fact that it has integrated many nationalities and differences. This makes it strong and effective."
Warns Against Expensive Pay Deals
While Liikanen admitted that Finland's comparatively small salaries makes it hard to attract workers, he also warned against the kind of large pay increases that unions have recently demanded. In a worst-case scenario, he says, labour costs might increase so much that Finland's competitiveness suffers.
Liikanen also quelled rumours that he might run for president, quipping that he enjoys his current job so much that he would hate to give it up.
