RIYADH, 22 October 2007 — President Tarja Halonen arrived last evening on the first official state visit by a Finnish head of state to Saudi Arabia. The president is expected to meet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah today in Jeddah at the beginning of her three-day visit.
Halonen will also meet Crown Prince Sultan as well as other Saudi officials. “The visit is to deepen and enlarge bilateral relations between the two countries,” Martti Isoaro, Finland’s ambassador to the Kingdom, told Arab News. The ambassador said Halonen’s visit was also an opportunity for the two leaders to exchange views on regional and international issues. The two leaders will also discuss issues relating to education and health.
Diplomatic relations between Finland and Saudi Arabia were officially established in 1969. Finland opened its embassy in the Kingdom in Jeddah in 1974. The embassy was then moved to Riyadh in 1985. According to a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland, Saudi Arabia is planning to open an embassy in Finland’s capital, Helsinki, following the president’s visit.
During her stay in Jeddah, Halonen will visit the King Abdul Aziz University to look at the standard of education at Saudi universities and discuss with university officials areas of mutual cooperation. “Cooperation in the education sector is highly emphasized in the visit,” said Isoaro. Halonen will also pay a visit to one of the university’s health departments.
The Finnish ambassador said top business executives from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well as officials from the Jeddah Economic Forum, are expected to hold meetings with the president. Accompanying the president are about a dozen high level businessmen led by Ole Johansson, CEO and president of the Finnish company Wartsila.
Several executives from Finland’s cargo and environmental sectors told Arab News that they are seeking investment opportunities in many of the Kingdom’s projects, including the railroad land-bridge project, and various planned new ports and terminals at the Kingdom’s seaports.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Economy and Planning, Finland is among the highest exporters of mobile phones to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom imported nearly five million mobile phones from Finland in 2005, which are estimated to cost nearly SR3 billion. The Kingdom exports petrochemical products to Finland for the manufacturing of plastic material.
