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Vice President Commemorates International Women’s Day in Finland

March 8, 2011 at 3:43 PM ET by Elizabeth Alexander

Summary:

Vice President Biden spends the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day with Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi.

Vice President Biden spent most of this 100^th Anniversary of International Women’s Day with Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi (both women!).

Vice President Joe Biden walks with with Finnish President Tarja Halonen

Vice President Joe Biden walks with Finnish President Tarja Halonen at the Presidential Palace, in Helsinki, Finland, March 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

In his remarks with President Halonen, the Vice President said: “Finland has been a leader in the world, a pioneer when it comes to women having the right to an equal place in society. And I believe that to be the single greatest moral imperative of our time.”

He went on to say, “The single most significant thing we can do in the 21st century to improve the prospect of peace and security is to educate more women and to have women, particularly in other parts of the less developed world, have equal access to opportunity.”

Vice President Joe Biden stops for a photo with Finnish Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi at the House of Estates, in Helsinki, Finland, March 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

“And if there’s any nation in which I can stand with on the 100^th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, this is the most appropriate place to stand,” the Vice President added.

After his visit to Finland, the Vice President headed to Russia to build on the “reset” in U.S.-Russian relations, with a focus on ways to further the prosperity of our two countries. On Thursday, he will deliver a speech on U.S.-Russia relations hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia at Moscow State University.