Helsinki - Finnish President Tarja Halonen was next month to visit four countries in West Africa, the president's office said Friday.

The March 3-12 tour opens in Senegal and includes meetings with President Abdoulaye Wade, followed by Liberia and talks with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

In Liberia, the two female heads of state were also due to participate in a seminar on women's leadership.

Visits to Nigeria and Benin and meetings with Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua and Benin's President Yayi Bon cap the trip.

Helsinki - Finnish President Tarja Halonen is to visit India this week and att

Helsinki - Finnish President Tarja Halonen on Friday formally ratified the European Union reform treaty. Parliament approved the Lisbon Treaty in June with a clear majority.

Halonen also urged the regional parliament of the Aland islands to ratify the treaty. The islands located in the Baltic Sea between Finland and Sweden have autonomous status and constitute Finland's smallest province.

More than 90 per cent of the some 27,000 inhabitants are Swedish- speaking.

While the Aland parliament, known as the Lagting, is currently debating the treaty its consent is not "a prerequisite for the (Finnish) ratification," the Finnish government said.