On August 7th, Finnish Ambassador to China Mikko Kinnunen and his delegation visited Nanjing University. Gao Fang, Assistant President of NJU and Director of the Office of Humanities and Social Sciences, met with Ambassador Mikko Kinnunen and his delegation at the Xianlin Campus. The two sides exchanged views on deepening cooperation across multiple fields between NJU and Finnish universities.

On behalf of the university, Gao Fang extended a warm welcome to Ambassador Kinnunen and his delegation and introduced NJU's heritage and achievements in personnel training, discipline development, and internationalized education. Gao Fang pointed out that NJU, with its 124 years of history, has made remarkable contributions in the fields of international issues and area studies, fostering a large number of excellent diplomats. The university also hosts a UNESCO Chair in Peace Studies. NJU has actively promoted international exchanges and collaborations, establishing stable partnerships with renowned Finnish universities like the University of Helsinki. The Nanjing-Helsinki Institute in Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences at Nanjing University is the only Sino-foreign cooperative institution in the field of atmospheric sciences in China, representing a significant outcome of Sino-Finnish higher education collaboration. Gao expressed hopes for continued expansion of academic and cultural cooperation between NJU and Finnish universities, further promoting the in-depth development of friendly cooperation between the two countries.

Ambassador Kinnunen highly praised NJU for its academic reputation and influence. He stated that educational and cultural exchanges are key bridges for bringing people from the two nations closer and deepening bilateral trust and friendship. Ambassador Kinnunen emphasized that Finland has unique traditions and experiences in peace mediation and diplomatic negotiation and expressed hope for sustained academic exchanges and educational cooperation between NJU and Finnish universities in global sustainable development, international issue research, and peace studies. He advocated for joint efforts in co-managing the Nanjing-Helsinki Institute in Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, promoting diverse academic collaborations, deepening cultural exchanges and dialogues, and making joint contributions to global peace and sustainable development.

During the visit, Ambassador Kinnunen also engaged in discussions with faculty and students of the School of International Relations. Both sides conducted in-depth exchanges on further advancing Sino-Finnish friendly relations, establishing mechanisms for peace mediation, and studying foreign policies.

Officials and representatives from the School of International Relations and the Nanjing-Helsinki Institute of Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences attended the meeting.