On October 29, 2009, V.I. Matvienko, Governor of St.Petersburg, was in Helsinki (Republic of Finland) with an official visit.
On October 29, 2009, V.I. Matvienko, Governor of St.Petersburg, was in Helsinki (Republic of Finland) with an official visit.
During the visit, V.I. Matvienko met with Ms Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland. The sides discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation. V.I. Matvienko invited Tarja Halonen to the gala opening of the second stage of the House of Finland, which is scheduled for spring 2010, and emphasized the importance of the signed protocol on cooperation between St.Petersburg and Helsinki in 2010-2012.
Governor of St.Petersburg has held the negotiations with Mr Tapio Kuula, President of the company “Fortum” - one of the leading corporations of power industry in the Nordic countries and the Baltic Sea region. The Governor gave a detailed report about the development of the power supply complex of St.Petersburg in recent years and plans for the future. In his turn, Mr. Tapio Kuula said that the company was interested in developing cooperation with St.Petersburg.
At the end of her visit to Finland, V.I. Matvienko spoke at the University of Helsinki with a public lecture: "St.Petersburg–Finland – Strategic Partners. On the Bicentenary of the Formation of the Finnish state". V.I. Matvienko told about the history of relations between Finland and St.Petersburg. In particular, she noted that the lives of many well-known Finnish scientists and cultural figures, businessmen, and statesmen were connected our city, while by the number of Finns living in St.Petersburg in the middle of the XIX century, it was the second city after Helsinki.
The Governor stressed that in the XX century, our city continued to play an important role in the development of cooperation with Finland. Following V.I. Matvienko, a lecture by a former Finnish president Mauno Koivisto was given. For a hour, V.I. Matvienko and Mauno Koivisto also answered the questions from the audience who were interested in the history and current state of Russo-Finnish relations, Russia's internal policy, culture, and economic development of St.Petersburg.
Source: Committee for External Relations of St.Petersburg