NATO Chief, Norwegian PM to join President´s Kultaranta Talks

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre will participate as main guests in the Kultaranta Talks, hosted by President Sauli Niinistö at his summer house in Naantali on June 12-13, said Office of the President in a press release on Monday.

The Kultaranta Talks will be held this year with a title “Responsible, strong and stable Nordic region”.

The talks will begin on 12 June at 6.15 pm with remarks by the President and Stoltenberg as well as a discussion on the war in Ukraine, the current security situation and Finland’s NATO membership.

Before their joint discussion, the President and the NATO Secretary General will have a bilateral meeting, after which they will hold a press conference.

Discussions will continue on June 13 morning at 9.45 am with a theme Nordic model and security.

Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Støre, Programme Director at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs Björn Fägersten, and Programme Director at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs Katja Creutz will participate in the discussion. The discussion will be moderated by journalist Kirsi Heikel.

A second discussion on June 13, starting at 11.30 am, is about Finland’s changing security policy. Commander of the Defence Forces, General Timo Kivinen, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Jussi Halla-aho, Chair of the Defence Committee Petteri Orpo, Director of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Professor Tuomas Forsberg, and Minister of Education Li Andersson will discuss the topic. The moderator of the discussion is journalist Seija Vaaherkumpu.

The Kultaranta Talks will conclude with President Niinistö’s closing remarks at 4:00 pm.

Around one hundred participants from various sectors of society have been invited to Kultaranta.

Participants include political decision-makers and researchers as well as representatives of government, business and industry, organisations and the media. The discussions will be hosted by Katri Makkonen.

In addition to Niinistö, Stoltenberg and Støre will also have bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Marin at Kultaranta.

Earlier, President Sauli Niinistö and first lady Jenni Haukio along with their family arrived at Kultaranta summer residence of the President in Naantali on June 3.