Prime Minister commences visit to Finland

Tuesday, 10 October 2017 00:10 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday commenced a two-day official visit to Finland on the invitation of Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä.

Starting his official visit, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister met with the top executives of three leading business entities in Finland for a lunch meeting in Helsinki yesterday.

Top officials from Finnish state-owned financing company, Finnvera, Nordic Investment Bank, and Finland’s leading technology service provide Outotec participated in the discussions.

During the meeting the Premier said it was necessary to take measures to bring Finnish enterprises to Sri Lanka to expand economic cooperation and to make the bilateral relationship between the two countries strong and meaningful.

The heads Finnish institutions have enlightened the Sri Lankan Premier on their services in various sectors and service functions and provided information on investments and projects that they can make in Sri Lanka which is on a rapidly developing path.

The discussion focused on a number of sectors including investment, financial aid, power generation from solid waste and the drinking water supply.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe will hold bilateral discussions with his Finnish counterpart Prime Minister Juha Sipilä today at Kesäranta, the Prime Minister’s official residence. The topics they will discuss will focus on the countries’ bilateral relations, commercial cooperation and international relations, including the relations between the European Union and Asian countries.

During the visit, Wickremesinghe will also meet the Speaker of Parliament Maria Lohela, Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä, Minister of Defence Jussi Niinistö and Minister of Social Affairs and Health Pirkko Mattila.

The Sri Lankan Prime Minister will also visit Finnish companies and hold meetings with business representatives. In addition, he will pay a visit to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.