Finland’s first female president Tarja Halonen visited the Azerbaijan House in Helsinki.

The meeting was organized by Helsinki Azerbaijan House with the support of the State Committee on Work with Diaspora. The head of the House Ulviyya Jabbarova warmly met with former president emphasizing the visit’s significance and the pride it brought.

Tarja Halonen shared her positive views about Azerbaijan highlighting the core role of culture in developing ties between the two countries. She noted that the concerts, cultural events and the promotion of Azerbaijan’s rich national cuisine could serve as important means of further strengthening these relations.

During the meeting Kirsti Narinen, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Finland to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, drew attention to the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, COP29, held in Baku. She spoke about the successful initiatives implemented by the Helsinki Azerbaijan House during that period.

Afterwards, Sura Aghaverdiyeva, a teacher at the Azerbaijan House, discussed the significance of preserving the Azerbaijani language and passing it on to future generations. She noted that the mother tongue was one of the main pillars of national identity for compatriots living abroad.

At the event, a video about the activities of the Azerbaijan House was showcased. Classical and national music pieces were performed by coordinator of the Coordination Council of Azerbaijanis of Scandinavia for Finland, young musician Mona Savojifar, and Leyla Huseynova accompanist at the Helsinki Opera. Performances by students of the weekend Azerbaijani school operating under the Azerbaijan House, in Azerbaijani and Finnish, were warmly received by the audience.

At the meeting, discussions were held on ways to further develop cooperation between the diasporas of the two countries.

Books translated into Finnish from Azerbaijani literature by writer and translator Tahira Jafarova, as well as special handicrafts prepared by students of the Azerbaijan House, were presented to the former president as gifts.

It should be noted that currently 32 Azerbaijan Houses operate in 20 countries worldwide.