Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:

Vladimir Putin: Prime Minister, esteemed colleagues, I cordially welcome you to St.Petersburg. I am pleased to say that our joint efforts to develop the Russian-Finnish relations are yielding positive results.

In 2008 our mutual trade reached a record high of $22.4 billion. We are developing our relations in industrial cooperation, energy, ship-building and high technologies.

Today, of course, we will also discuss cooperation in the forestry sector. This is natural considering that we have gathered for the Forestry Summit. We are aware of the concerns of our Finnish partners in this field. We are prepared to talk with you as partners, as has become a tradition in recent years, on any topic of mutual interest.

Matti Vanhanen (through an interpreter): Esteemed Prime Minister Mr.Putin, thank you very much for the invitation to come to St.Petersburg. This used to be your native city.

Vladimir Putin: Why used to be? It is still my native city.

Matti Vanhanen: Good, I was waiting to see how you would react.

Vladimir Putin: You decided to test my reaction?

Matti Vanhanen: No, it's just an important point. This meeting is taking place in the midst of an economic crisis, a recession. Nevertheless, there are already many early signs that times are improving.

Early this year there was a slump in our trade relations. The number of trucks crossing the border every day dropped from 1500 to 75. But recently it has risen to 900. There is a clear upswing.

I am also told that the number of visas issued by our General Consulate in St.Petersburg has risen by 10% this year. That makes a substantial difference.

I look forward to our meeting today with great interest because we will discuss forests, climate, the forthcoming climate summit and the relations between the European Union and Russia. We will also discuss Nord Stream.