The lunch was organized at Restaurant Perho in Helsinki on Friday, 18 August 2009 and it gathered altogether 19 guests. The speakers were the Finnish Ambassador to Malaysia H.E. Tapio Saarela and the Malaysian Ambassador to Finland H.E. Cheah Choong Kit. Ambassador Lauri Korpinen (previous Finnish Ambassador to Malaysia) and members of the board of Finland-Malaysia Association acted as the host of the occasion. In his speech, Ambassador Saarela touched on bilateral relations between Finland and Malaysia as well as the political and economic situation in Malaysia. He viewed the political situation to be stable and stated that the new government in Malaysia has successfully started its work.
Ambassador Cheah Choong Kit expressed his views on issues of concern between Malaysia and Finland mainly on trade matters and ways to further substantiate the relations between both sides. Besides that, Ambassador Cheah Choong Kit also highlighted the mandates and initiatives made by the Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak.
After the Ambassadors’ key note speeches there was a vivid discussion during the Q&A session. Overall, the luncheon had provided opportunities for good networking and understanding between Finland and Malaysia.
H.E. Cheah Choong Kit addressing his remarks
H.E. Tapio Saarela addressing his remarks