The U.S. president, Joe Biden, will fly to Finland from Lithuania where the next NATO leaders’ summit will take place.
President Sauli Niinistö will host a visit of President Joe Biden of the United States to Finland and a U.S.-Nordic Leaders’ Summit in Helsinki on Thursday, July 13, 2023, according to a statement of the Finnish president’s office.
The U.S.-Nordic Summit will be attended by President Niinistö and President Biden as well as the Swedish prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, the Norwegian prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, the Danish prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, and the Icelandic prime minister, Katrín Jakobsdóttir.
The discussions taking place at the Presidential Palace will focus on closer cooperation between the Nordic countries and the United States on security, environment and topics related to technology.
This is the third meeting between the leaders of the Nordic countries and the United States. The previous summits were held in Stockholm in 2013 and in Washington in 2016.
Before the Summit, President Niinistö will have a bilateral meeting with President Biden.
President Niinistö told the Finnish media on Sunday at a press briefing in the Finnish president’s official residence, Mäntyniemi, that the visit paints a clear picture that “the United States holds the Nordic relations in high value.”
The date for the meeting is based on President Biden’s visit in Vilnius where the meeting of NATO heads of state will take place between July 11 and 12. Biden will fly to Finland from Vilnius.
It was unclear if the Finnish prime minister, Petteri Orpo (NCP), will attend the summit between the U.S. and Nordic leaders.
“The world doesn’t understand ‘the Finnish politics of two plates,” Niinistö said. “We try to take into account our guests who may feel a little bit weird if one country speaks with two voices.”
