Finland Times

 

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee (L) talks with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinistö during their discussions at the Government Banquet Hall in Helsinki, Finland, on October 15, 2014. Photo – Str / Lehtikuva.

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, who is on a state visit in the country, paid a visit to the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle in Rovaniemi on Thursday.

 

In an interview with the news agency STT before his visit, President Mukherjee said he wanted to clean up the widespread culture of corruption in India.

 

The Santa Claus took the opportunity of the visit to present the Indian president with a small Christmas present. President Mukherjee also got to read letters for Santa Claus.

 

President Sauli Niinistö held talks with his counterpart on the development of relations between Finland and India, trade, investments, research and development cooperation, and current international issues, said a release from the President’s Office.

 

“During our discussion, President Mukherjee proposed that we double trade volumes between our two nations over the next three years. That is extremely welcome and we will do our best to achieve this goal,” said President Niinistö on October 15, according to the release.

 

Indian President Pranab Mukherjee (L) visited at the Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi, Finland on October 16, 2014 and met with Santa (C) who gave a X-mas present to the President. Photo – Lehtikuva.

According to the release, no fewer than 16 agreements have been signed between the two countries during the visit, including a cooperation agreement between Finnish universities and Indian institutes of technology and an agreement on the use of renewable energy sources. 

 

President Mukherjee also expressed his interest in the development of the Arctic region. India joined the Arctic Council as an observer last year. The presidents were in agreement that natural values and sustainability need to be taken into account in the exploitation of the region, said the release.