Lahore: To celebrate Finland’s 100 years of independence, the Ambassador of Finland, H.E. Rauli Suikkanen and Dr. Durre Ahmed, Honorary Consul of Finland in Lahore, hosted a reception and dinner. Speaking at the occasion, the Ambassador welcomed the distinguished guests and gave a brief history of Finland’s progress since its independence.
Starting primarily as an agrarian economy, today Finland is a fully industrialized nation and a leader in Clean Technology and Innovation. It is also a competitive leader in forestry, pulp and paper, ship building, metal and electronics industries.
He pointed out that as a modern welfare state, even before independence, Finland was the first country in Europe to give full political voting rights to women and today it is also a world leader in education.
A prominent member of the EU, Finland has had a female President, two female Prime Ministers and fifty percent of present MP’s are women. The Honorary Consul of Finland in Lahore, Dr. Durre Ahmed, also spoke at the occasion.***