Visit by President of Finland

  • Helen Clark
Prime Minister

Prime Minister Helen Clark today announced that the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen, is to visit New Zealand this week to meet government, research and business leaders.

President Halonen will be in New Zealand from 18-21 February and will attend a state dinner hosted by the Governor-General Hon Anand Satyanand.

“I look forward to welcoming President Halonen back to New Zealand. President Halonen last visited New Zealand as Finland’s Foreign Minister in 1999 on her way to the Antarctic Ministerial meeting on the Ice. This will be the first ever visit to New Zealand by a Finnish President.

“New Zealand and Finland enjoy a warm relationship. We are a similar size and share a common outlook and values. Our approaches to international issues, including security, disarmament, and the environment, are generally very close.”

“President Halonen's visit is an excellent opportunity to continue strengthening the relationship between our two countries, particularly by looking for opportunities to collaborate on innovation and research, science and technology.

”The transformation of Finland's economy around ICT in the past fifteen years, with the development of Nokia as a world leader in the sector, has been inspirational.

"The President will be able to offer useful insights into current developments in Europe, as Finland has just served a six-month term in the Presidency of the European Union.

"Finland also holds a special place in New Zealand sporting history. Long jumper Yvette Williams returned home to a huge welcome after winning a gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games. Legendary New Zealand athletics coach Arthur Lydiard also spent time in Finland. His influence and training methods helped the Finns to several world records and titles, and Olympic gold medals, throughout the 1970s," Helen Clark said.

President Halonen will be accompanied by a delegation of innovation experts led by Raimo Väyrynen, the head of the Academy of Finland, who will take part in a Finland-New Zealand Innovation Seminar.