Iran is a gate between East and West: Finnish ambassador

Finland’s ambassador to Tehran has said that he has not seen any country enjoying such a rich and old history and civilization as Iran and that the two countries of Iran and Finland have always been the gates between the East and the West.
Harri Kamarainen, who has been to Iran as Finland’s ambassador for four months, said.

“Iran was among the first countries that recognized Finland’s independence and after that diplomatic ties between the two countries have been flourishing steadily since 1934,” said the ambassador.

He also noted that although geographically there is a large distance between the two countries, there is not any considerable gap between the principles of the two countries and that is a good new starting point to further expand ties.

Ambassador Kamarainen emphasized that Finnish businessmen are interested in having cooperation with Iranian companies in many areas such as construction, electronics and IT.

Iran also has experiences in many areas in which Finland is interested to explore, he added.

Asked how Iran is important for Finland, he said that Iran is a great power in the Middle East and a key player in international diplomacy. He also expressed hope that even at this tough political situation the relations between the two countries would be further expanded.

The Finnish diplomat said there are many Iranian students studying at prestigious universities in Finland, adding, “Since Iranian universities are among the best, I will encourage Finnish younger generation to come to Iran for their studies.”

Asked on the issue of militarization of the world, he said that two years ago the United Nations had selected Finland to host a conference on nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East to which Iran reacted very positively and announced that she would attend the conference. However, this conference could not be held last year, but Finland will make efforts to host it in 2013, he added.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the ambassador commented on his first-hand experiences of his four-month stay in Tehran and expressed surprise over the fact that the metropolis of Tehran with a population of 14-15 million is being managed perfectly.
“Tehran’s transportation system is very effective, though many level criticism against it”, he said.