PRESIDENT HALONEN OF
FINLAND
ACCEPTS INVITATION TO VISIT THE
PHILIPPINES
17
September 2007 – Finnish President Tarja Halonen has accepted the invitation
of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to visit the
Philippines
in 2009. The invitation to visit
the
Philippines
was reiterated by Philippine Ambassador Maria Zeneida Angara Collinson during
her presentation of credentials in
Helsinki
on 30 August 2007.
President
Halonen reciprocates the visit to Finland of President Macapagal-Arroyo in
Helsinki
in September 2006 to attend the ASEM 6. President
Arroyo is the first Philippine President to visit
Finland
. President Halonen is the first
Finnish head of state to visit the
Philippines
.
Ambassador
Collinson also took the opportunity to meet with high-level officials of the
Government of Finland, the CEOs of Finnish business, and the leaders of the
Filipino community. She also had the pleasure of meeting with officials of
Suntours, the largest tour operator in
Finland
.
The
major accomplishments of Ambassador Collinson’s meetings with
representatives from the private sector include a commitment by METSO OY
(Finland’s largest supplier of mining equipment) to host a mining seminar in
Helsinki in November 2007. The
seminar will focus on the growing investment opportunities in the Philippine
mining industry.
Batting
for the opening of
Finland
’s healthcare labor market, Ambassador Collinon secured agreement from the
Helsinki Region Chamber of Commerce to conduct promotional and business
matching activities concerning the
Philippines
’ health and wellness industry.
Finland
’s rapidly ageing population presents labor opportunities for Filipino
nurses and health care workers.
Shortly
after Ambassador Collinson’s visit to
Finland
, ESPERI, a Finnish healthcare and social care manpower company, announced its
plan to recruit about 100 nurses from the
Philippines
next year, and in 2009, in a joint venture with OPTEAM, a recruitment firm,
and AMIEDU, an adult education center. A
pilot group of about 20 workers is expected to travel to
Finland
early next year. Further, ESPERI
would assist Filipino nurses in completion of their Finnish training, language
studies, and enjoyment of the same employment priveleges due Finnish carers.