President Halonen met with President of Afghanistan

President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen met with President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, on 18 September 2006 in New York. The Presidents Halonen and Karzai discussed the situation in Afghanistan. President Karzai thanked Finland for its help and for the contribution of Finnish peacekeepers to promotion of stability in Afghanistan.

President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen and President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan.

President Halonen also met with Israeli Foreign Minister, Tzini Livni. This meeting focused on the present stage of the Middle East peace process and especially on the relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. President Halonen thanked Israel for their report concerning the bombardment at Patrol Base Khiyam and the incidents that led to the death of the Finnish UN Military Observer. She hoped that reflecting on these events lead to adoption of measures necessary to avoid similar events from occurring in the future. President Halonen also wished that the abducted Israeli soldiers would be released as soon as possible.

In addition, President Halonen had a meeting with Bolivian President, Evo Morales. In their talks, one issue discussed was developing cooperation between the EU and the Andean Community including the starting of the negotiations on free trade area. President Morales told about his government's actions on such things as combating drug production and trade.

President Halonen is in New York from 17 to 23 September, where she attends the opening of the 61st General Assemby of the United Nations.