The leaders of the Nordic countries and the President of the United States will meet today in Helsinki at the third joint summit.
In Finland, attention is focused on the US president today to Joe Bidenwho has arrived for a visit to the newest NATO country and a one-on-one meeting with the president Sauli Niinistön with.
However, the prime ministers of all the Nordic countries will also arrive in Finland today, as the Nordic-American summit will be held in Helsinki. The topic is closer cooperation in security, environmental and technology issues, says the office of the President of the Republic.
Similar summits have been organized twice before: in Stockholm in 2013 and in Washington in 2016. However, the situation is completely different now. At the time of the last meeting, there were no indications that Finland and Sweden would join the military alliance NATO. Soon all the Nordic countries will be members of NATO.
In this changed situation, the following will arrive in Finland:
Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark
Leader of the Danish Social Democrats Mette Frederiksen45, has served as prime minister since 2019.
Frederiksen is known around the world for his strict immigration policy and his goal that zero asylum seekers come to Denmark. He has also been speculated to be the future Secretary General of NATO.
Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland
Green left party Katrín Jakobsdóttir47, has led Iceland since 2017.
Jakobsdóttir and her party have opposed Iceland’s membership in NATO, as she said In an interview with the BBC in 2019. However, even before Russia’s attack on Ukraine, he said that he was committed to the country’s security policy program, which includes NATO membership.
Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden
The moderate coalition Ulf Kristersson59, has served as prime minister from autumn until 2022.
Kristersson leads a minority government that operates with the support of the right-wing populist Sweden Democrats in the opposition. On Monday, Kristersson reached an agreement with the president of Turkey, who has been blocking Sweden’s NATO membership for a long time Recep Tayyip Erdoğan with.
Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway
Leader of the Labor Party Jonas Gahr Støre62, has served as prime minister since 2021 and before that, among other things, as foreign minister.
Støre’s predecessor in the leadership of the Labor Party was Jens Stoltenbergwho is currently the Secretary General of NATO.