President Alar Karis has begun a visit to Finland with a view to bolstering defence and economic cooperation between Estonia and its northern neighbour. In the course of the visit he will be meeting with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
On the first day of the visit, the head of state will be visiting the Finnish Navy Command headquarters in Turku and meeting with the navy’s commander, Rear Admiral Tuomas Tiilikainen. Their discussion will focus on cooperation in the area of marine protection in the Baltic Sea region and the protection of critical underwater infrastructure. President Karis will also be visiting the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant and the Sisu car factory in Raasepori, which specialises in the manufacturing of armoured vehicles.
Tomorrow the Estonian head of state will be meeting with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb as well as Prime Minister Petteri Orpo. These meetings will address continued support for Ukraine and progress in finding a just and lasting solution, transatlantic cooperation and the strengthening of bilateral relations between Estonia and Finland, first and foremost in the fields of defence and economic cooperation.
On Thursday morning, President Karis will be meeting with leading Finnish entrepreneurs to discuss direct investment and closer cooperation in a variety of economic sectors. The heads of Ensto, the Transmeri Group, Nordea Bank, S-Group, the Fortaco Group, Rapala VMC, the Paulig Group, Incap, the Metsä Group, Elisa, the Olvi Group, Valio Estonia and ABB will be taking part in this meeting.
In addition, the head of state will be given a tour of the Institute of Biotechnology at the University of Helsinki, led by Estonian Academy of Sciences president Mart Saarma, and attending a reception at the Estonian embassy in Helsinki to mark the 107th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.
President Karis is being accompanied on his visit by Commodore Ivo Värk, the commander of the Estonian navy.
President Karis will be returning to Estonia on Thursday night.
Gallery: Raigo Pajula/Office of the President of the Republic https://www.flickr.com/photos/presidendikantselei/albums
Office of the President of the Republic
