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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds talks with Finnish Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi during his working visit to St Petersburg

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Transcript of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Madam Prime Minister, I am very pleased to meet with you here, not far from Finland, in the region which has traditionally had strong business and cultural ties with your country.

I am glad to note that, despite the crisis in the world economy, Russia remains Finland’s largest trading partner.  At the same time, trade volume has grown in the past nine months and is approaching the pre-crisis levels. We have a robust, effective cooperation mechanism linking the business community and the government. It means we can respond rapidly to global and domestic economic changes.  

I am very happy to see you. Welcome.

Mari Kiviniemi (as translated): Thank you very much. I am very happy to be in St Petersburg again. I was here a few months ago at the opening ceremony for Stockmann. I met with Governor Valentina Matviyenko then and we had a very interesting talk. I am eager to start our talks and discuss topical issues.

I agree that Russia and Finland have a good cooperation mechanism in place, which applies to the political life and the business community. It is very good that this year the trade volume between our countries revived after the economic crisis. Indeed, Russia is our biggest partner in terms of import and is ranked third in terms of export. I believe this means there is a great potential for further development. It seems to me that economic growth in Russia and Finland will continue and that our relations will continue strengthening.

I would like to sincerely thank you for your message of congratulations on Finland’s Independence Day and for your kind words, with which I completely agree.

I would also like to congratulate Russia on winning the bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018. I think that not only I, but all of Finland is looking forward to this event. This is very important for Russia and equally important and gratifying for Finland.

I am  looking forward to our conversation and highly value these regular meetings between the prime ministers. Thank you.

Vladimir Putin: Thank you. You mentioned Stockmann; it got an excellent location in St Petersburg. We can congratulate the staff. It is important that the company preserves the high level it is famous for today.