Finland, Russia signed agreements
Finnish Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in their meeting in Sankt Petersburg Friday signed a number of bilateral agreements.
Among the deals signed were an agreement on the Russian state-owned United Shipbuliding Corporation’s acquisition of a 50 percent stake in the Helsinki Shipyard, a protocol on the implementation of the EU-Russian Agreement on Readmission, two MOUs on energy efficiency, as well as a memorandum on training of administrative personnel, the Russian government’s press service informs.
The meeting was the first between new Finnish PM Mari Kiviniemi and Vladimir Putin.
The prime ministers’ meetings takes place only two days ahead of Finnish President Tarja Halonen’s visit to the same city. She is to take part in the maiden voyage of the new high-speed Allegra train between Helsinki and St Petersburg and also meet with Premier Putin, YLE News reports.
Finland is among Russia’s closest partners in the EU. The countries’ prime ministers meet twice every year to discuss bilateral issues. In addition, the Finnish President Tarja Halonen has been a frequent guest in Russia. As reported by BarentsObserver, she was on a state visit to the country in November this year.
