In a meeting with representatives of the Murmansk regional parliament, diplomats from the Finnish General Consulate in Sankt Petersburg stressed that Finland wants to strengthen relations with Murmansk Oblast and that a new House of Finland will open in the city, Murman.ru reports. Head of the General Consulates Department of Economy and Trade, Consul Jyrki Terva, in the meeting highlighted that relations between Northwest Russia and Finland are developing quickly. Last year, the general consulate issued about 500.000 visas to Finland, of which 53,000 to people in the Republic of Karelia and 15,000 to people in Murmansk Oblast.