All news

Matviyenko to discuss wider Finland-Russia cooperation in Helsinki

HELSINKI, December 04, 2:57 /ITAR-TASS/. A delegation of the Fedration Council (FC) upper house of the Russian parliament, led by House Speaker Valentina Matviyenko will travel to Finland on Wednesday for an official visit.

The delegation members are to meet with the country's authorties and hold talks in the republic's parliament to consider ways towards broadening bilateral cooperation and intensifying intreparliamentary dialogue, as well as topical problems that are on the international agenda.

Ahead of the visit, Matviyenk said relations between Russia and Finland develop successively, pointing out a good interaction in the economic sphere. "Beginning from 2008, Russian has been ranking first among Finland's trading partners," she said, adding thst Finland, for its part, is among 20 foreign-trading partners of Russia in the world and among ten European Union member-states.

Matviyenko also pointed out versatile bilateral cooperation in the humanitarian sphere. "Its important component is preserving the cultural heritage in border territories. The two countries implement joint projects aimed at developing education, culture, civil society, and at strengthening contacts through the channels of Finno-Ugric peopeles," the FC Speaker said.

The senator also ponted out the joint work being done by Moscow and Helsinki on regional problems within the scope of the Council of the Baltic Sea States, the Barents/Euro-Arctic Council, in which Finland now holds presidency, as well as in the Arctic Council. "We devote much attention to cooperation in developing contiguous territories, and in maintaining stability in the Baltic region and in northern Europe as a whole," she said. Matviyenko also recalled successful interaction between Russia and Finland under the Northern Dimension project.