Photo credit: kremlin.ru
Russia and Finland actively cooperate at different levels, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated. He said this during a speech after negotiations with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö. The meeting took place on August 21, during the visit of the President of Finland to Russia, the Kremlin website reports.
According to Putin, cooperation continues at the highest level and between the governments, departments, regions and societies of the two countries.
Cultural and humanitarian ties are becoming stronger. In early autumn, the Russian-Finnish cultural forum will take place. It has been held every year for two decades. This year the event will be hosted by Tula. Next year organizers plan to hold Days of Karelia in Finland and the Congress of twin cities.
The cooperation in the scientific and educational fields are also developing very actively. Scientists from the two countries will engage in joint research project on extraction, processing and transportation of natural resources. The corresponding agreement was signed by St. Petersburg Mining University and the Lappeenranta University of Technology.
For many years, tourist exchanges have shown good results. In 2018, more than three million Russians visited Finland. The number of Finnish tourists in Russia has reached a million people. Putin is confident that the flow of tourists from the neighbouring state will become even larger after the introduction of electronic visas in St. Petersburg.
Economic ties are actively developing, the head of state added. He expressed gratitude to Helsinki for the pragmatism shown in the framework of the Nord Stream-2 project. Up to date, all work on a gas pipeline in the Finnish section has been completed.
The two countries are closely cooperating in the field of ecology and environmental protection. A bilateral forum is planned on this topic next month. Representatives of more than three dozen Russian regions will gather in Finland to discuss their experience in environmental protection. Moscow and Helsinki plan to continue cooperation in this direction in the future. It will develop in the framework of the Arctic Council.
Russkiy Mir
