Jens Stoltenberg, secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) will visit Finland on Wednesday and Thursday at the invitation of Prime Minister Alexander Stubb.
Stoltenberg will also meet with Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, Defence Minister Carl Haglund and others.
Stubb and Stoltenberg are to discuss Finland’s cooperation with NATO through its Partnership for Peace programme, as well as EU-NATO ties and the situation in Ukraine.
The visit coincides with Finnish participation in a NATO-led crisis management exercise that also involves Ukraine, Sweden, Australia and Japan among others. The six-day event focuses on maritime security.
Mogherini meets fellow social democrats
Arriving on Thursday is Federica Mogherini, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. Mogherini, who is also Vice-President of the European Commission, visits at the invitation of Tuomioja, a fellow social democrat.
Mogherini is also to meet with President Sauli Niinistö as well as Stubb, Haglund and three SDP politicians: Finance Minister and party chair Antti Rinne, parliamentary speaker and former chair Eero Heinäluoma as well as Minister for International Development Sirpa Paatero.
The Italian commissioner is scheduled to take part in a public forum on the EU’s role in peace-building and crisis management, to be co-sponsored by Tuomioja’s foreign ministry.