Finnish prime minister Sanna Marin has written a tweet and a letter of congratulations to Kamala Harris, who became Vice President of the United States on 20 January.
The head of the government rushed on Thursday, 20 January to congratulate Harris via Twitter, as soon as she was appointed.
Vice President @KamalaHarris, my warmest congratulations! I look forward working with you and the new administration. Finland wants to strenghten our good relations and cooperation even further. Climate, equality and human rights need strong voices.
— Sanna Marin (@MarinSanna) January 20, 2021
The tweet sent from the prime minister's Iphone immediately caught the attention of some of her followers.
Some were surprised that she did not extend these informal congratulations to the new President of the United States, Joe Biden. Others, by the fact that the text contained a misspelling and a grammatical error.
Suomen ulkopolitiikkaa johtaa tasavallan presidentti, joka on jo antanut onnittelunsa Bidenille.
— Juha-Pekka Reijonen (@JPReijonen) January 20, 2021
Koska puhemiehet ovat puhemiehiä, niin USA:n varapresidentille antaa onnittelut Suomesta pääministeri. Eli ihan koodin mukaan mennään.
*Look forward to*/*strengthen*
— Sirkka Laitinen (@sirkka_laitinen) January 20, 2021
Opettele englantia (onneks korjasit virheet)
— Marianne Koo (@koo_marianne) January 20, 2021
That same night, the government communications department announced that Marin had also sent "a letter of congratulations" to Kamala Harris. The press release was also published in English on Thursday.
Strengthen cooperation
In her letter, Prime Minister Marin expressed her hope for deeper cooperation with the United States in responding to global challenges.
According to government information, the Prime Minister wrote about the need to strengthen cooperation between Europe and the United States in order to "improve the multilateral system so it can better promote our shared values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law."
In particular, Marin highlighted the importance of climate change mitigation, Arctic cooperation, gender equality and the response to global health threats.
The Prime Minister also expressed her strong desire to see US commitment to multilateral cooperation, including in the UN, the WHO and the Arctic Council.
Marin also emphasised the "good and extensive relations between Finland and the United States," and hoped for close cooperation with Vice President Harris going forward.
At the time of writing this article, the government communications department had not said whether Kamala Harris had responded to Marin's messages.
