“Attending the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics provided an opportunity for dialogue with the Chinese leaders”, said Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) in Beijing on Sunday.
Talks of boycotting the opening ceremony subsided before the games, and ultimately more than 80 world leaders were present at the spectacular launch of the games on Friday night.
”Finland has traditionally avoided practicing demonstration politics. It is better to utilise the dialogue opportunities rather than create conflicts”, Vanhanen added.
Vanhanen also pointed out that the Finnish leaders have a long tradition in attending sporting events.
In Beijing Vanhanen met with the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabaon and other leaders.
Vanhanen said that in the meeting he emphasised the importance of human rights.
The Prime Minister will follow the efforts of the Finnish Olympic athletes for a week.
On Sunday Vanhanen also went to see the men’s basketball game between China and the United States, which was also attended by the American President George W. Bush.
Discussions in the arena focused more on sports than on the ongoing conflict between Georgia and Russia, according to Vanhanen, who was also interviewed on Finnish television on Monday shortly after the Finns took their first medals in Beijing.
The Finnish President Tarja Halonen in turn will be present at the closing ceremony of the games.
