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By Essi Lehto
HELSINKI (Reuters) – Finland will return two large pandas to China in November, greater than eight years forward of time, because the zoo the place they dwell can not afford their repairs, the chair of the zoo’s board advised Reuters on Tuesday.
The pandas, named Lumi and Pyry, had been delivered to Finland in January 2018, months after Chinese language President Xi Jinping visited the Nordic nation and signed a joint settlement on defending the animals.
Since its founding in 1949, the Folks’s Republic of China has despatched pandas to overseas zoos to strengthen buying and selling ties, cement overseas relations and enhance its worldwide picture.
The Finnish settlement was for a keep of 15 years, however as a substitute the pandas will quickly go right into a month-long quarantine earlier than they’re shipped again to China, in line with Ahtari Zoo, the pandas’ present house.
The zoo, a non-public firm, had invested over 8 million euros ($8.92 million) within the facility the place the animals dwell and confronted annual prices of 1.5 million euros for his or her repairs, together with a preservation price paid to China, Ahtari Chair Risto Sivonen stated.
The zoo had hoped the pandas would appeal to guests to the central Finland location however final yr stated it had as a substitute amassed mounting money owed because the pandemic curbed journey, and that it was discussing a return.
Rising inflation had added to the prices, the zoo stated, and Finland’s authorities in 2023 rejected pleas for state funding.
In all, negotiations to return the animals had lasted three years, Sivonen stated.
“Now we reached a degree the place the Chinese language stated it might be achieved,” Sivonen stated.
The return of the pandas was a enterprise determination made by the zoo which didn’t contain Finland’s authorities and mustn’t impression relations between the 2 international locations, a spokesperson for Finland’s overseas ministry stated.
Regardless of efforts by China to help the zoo, the 2 international locations in the long run collectively concluded after pleasant consultations to return the pandas, the Chinese language embassy in Helsinki stated in a press release to Reuters.
(Reporting by Essi Lehto, enhancing by Ros Russell)
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