His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday held talks with President of Finland Tarja Halonen that focused on bilateral relations and regional developments.

In their direct talks, which were followed by an expanded meeting attended by senior Jordanian and Finnish officials, King Abdullah and Halonen stressed their commitment to strengthening bilateral ties in the fields of economy, commerce and investment.

The two leaders noted that there are also broad prospects for expanding cooperation in the areas of renewable energy, information technology, telecommunications and tourism.

The two countries' officials agreed to explore practical steps to expand cooperation.

King Abdullah voiced hope that Halonen's visit to Jordan will help strengthen bilateral relations in all fields, with the participation of the countries' private sectors.

During the talks, the King highlighted various programmes Jordan is pursuing to ensure the country's sustainable development.

He discussed plans for mega-projects in various sectors, especially water and energy projects, highlighting opportunities for the participation of the Finnish private sector.

Addressing regional developments, King Abdullah highlighted the efforts being exerted to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and achieve regional peace and stability.

He stressed the important role of the European Union (EU) in supporting peace efforts and eliminating obstacles to direct Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, especially regarding settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Speaking to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Finland's Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb described President Halonen's visit to Jordan as important to both countries.

“Jordan and Finland are similar in their circumstances and positions in support of the Middle East process and global issues,” he was quoted as saying.

Stubb voiced hope that a scheduled visit by a delegation of Finnish businesspeople would promote Jordanian-Finnish economic relations, activate trade and acquaint Finnish businesspeople with investment opportunities in Jordan. He also stressed his country's support for the peace process, both as an independent state and as an EU member.

In remarks to Petra, Minister of Industry and Trade Amer Hadidi noted that Finland, as an EU member-state, is associated with the Kingdom through the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership.

Hadidi said the joint commercial volume between Jordan and Finland is below expectations and said the partnership agreement should be utilised to increase the joint commercial exchange volume.

“We have talked about ways to activate the agreement by exchanging visits by business delegations,” he said, adding that Jordan hopes to benefit from Finnish experience in the fields of renewable energy and information technology.

In addition to the partnership agreement, the two countries are bound by an agreement on economic cooperation and another one on the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments.

Joint commercial exchange volume is heavily tilted in Finland's favour. In 2009, Jordan's exports to Finland totalled around JD2 million while its imports from Finland stood at JD54 million.

Jordan exports food, metal and chemical products as well as pottery and antiques to Finland. As for its imports, these include food and chemical products as well as leather, metal, machinery and electric and medical equipment.