President Halonen makes visit to Egypt and Syria

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Doctor Pentti Arajärvi have made an official visit to Egypt and Syria. The trip to the Middle East began in Cairo, where President Halonen met with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt on Tuesday 20 October for a long and detailed discussion about the current situation in the region. Egypt’s role in the reconciliation negotiations, which have the aim of restoring Palestinian unity, was the focus of special interest. Besides topical international affairs, President Halonen and President Mubarak discussed climate change and the Copenhagen Climate Treaty. In addition to information technology, the Presidents identified clean technologies related to, for example, water supply as a possible new area of economic cooperation between Finland and Egypt.

Dr Pentti Arajärvi, President of the Republic Tarja Halonen, President of Syria Bashar al-Assad and Mrs Asma al-Assad.

Also on Tuesday, President Halonen joined Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak in a panel discussion on the topic of women, peace and security. On Wednesday 21 October, President Halonen met with Secretary-General Amr Moussa of the League of Arab States and Egypt’s head of national security Omar Suleiman for continued discussions on the Middle Eastern situation.

President Halonen met with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria on Thursday 22 October. The Presidents discussed particularly the role the Middle East’s regional actors play in the peace process. Syria and Egypt are of key importance for the effort to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement. Another topic of discussion was the EU-Syria Association Agreement, which President Halonen hoped could be signed as soon as possible.

President Halonen and President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak. Copyright © Office of the President of the Republic

President Halonen visited the UNDOF peacekeeping operation in the Golan on Friday 23 October. In a simple yet impressive ceremony, the President laid a wreath at a memorial to the Finnish UN soldiers who fell there while participating in a peacekeeping mission.

President Halonen also met with Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Otari and Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash during her stay in Syria. A visit to the Finnish Institute in Damascus was also included in the programme.

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb travelled with the delegation accompanying the President of the Republic.

Speech at a gala dinner hosted by President of Syria Bashar al-Assad