President Halonen to visit China and Qatar

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press Release 19 May 2010

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Dr Pentti Arajärvi will travel to China on 24-30 May 2010. In Beijing President Halonen will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao and participate in a celebration marking the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and China as well as a business seminar presenting Finnish clean technology. Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang will also participate in the seminar.

In addition to Beijing President Halonen and Dr Arajärvi will visit Shanghai, where they will attend the Expo 2010 world's fair and take part in the programme on Finland Day, 27 May. President Halonen will also take a closer look at Finnish companies in the area as well as the Finnish maritime cluster in Lingang New City.

President Halonen will be accompanied by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen (only in Beijing), Minister of the Environment Paula Lehtomäki and a high-level Finnish business delegation.

From China President Halonen will travel directly to Qatar, where she will meet with the Emir of Qatar and attend the 10th Doha Forum. President Halonen will speak at the forum's opening session, which will focus on global stability and security. Other subjects at the international forum will include immigration and national identity, development, the role of civil society organizations in strengthening democracy, trade and the international financial crisis, and education and research.

President Halonen will return to Finland on 3 June.