Damascus, (SANA)- President of Finland Tarja Halonen starts an official visit to Syria on October 21.

During the three-day visit, the Finnish President will hold talks with President Bashar al-Assad on bilateral relations and the regional and international developments.

 President Halonen, accompanied by a high level delegation, will also hold meetings with Speaker of the Syrian People's Assembly and Syrian Prime Minister.

The Syrian-Finnish relations have developed remarkably during recent years. President Bashar al-Assad met Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb last May and discussed with him means of boosting bilateral relations between Syria and Finland, as well as the Middle East peace process.

Last September, Finnish Minister of Immigration Astrid Thors held talks in Damascus, during which she stressed Finland's support to signing the Syrian-European Association Agreement and to achieving peace in the Middle East.

Haifa Said /Kh.Aridi