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Prime Minister Sipilä hosting Nordic prime ministers’ meeting in Åland

Government Communications Department
Publication date 15.9.2016 16.19
Press release 383/2016

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä has invited his Nordic colleagues to the annual informal summer meeting of the Nordic prime ministers, convening on 27 and 28 September in the Åland Islands. The prime ministers will discuss topical Nordic and international matters, such as enhancing Nordic cooperation, current challenges in the EU, security in the Baltic Sea region and cooperation between the Nordic countries and the United States.

'Nordic cooperation is one of the cornerstones of Finland's foreign policy and international cooperation. In today's changing world and challenging environment, the Nordic countries as a community are stronger than ever. We also have shared challenges to resolve. The annual summer meeting is a good example of close communication between the Nordic prime ministers. I'm very pleased to be hosting this year's meeting in Åland', says Prime Minister Sipilä.

The premiers will also be meeting representatives of the autonomous regions of the Åland Islands, Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The President and the Director of the Nordic Council and the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers will also be attending the meeting. The meeting will focus for instance on reorganising the work of the Nordic Council of Ministers and the Council's cooperation programme for the integration of refugees and immigrants. The Nordic prime ministers' new action programme is also on the agenda. It serves to help export the Nordic countries' operating practices and expertise in sustainable development and to make them better known internationally.  

Finland holds the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers this year. Finland's aims during its Presidency are to dismantle cross-border barriers, to promote digitalisation and to bring greater shared weight for the Nordic countries to the European Union. 

Finland's Presidency Programme
Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers website

Inquiries: Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen, Special Adviser (International Affairs), tel. +358 40 748 3867, Prime Minister's Office and Kari Kahiluoto, Chief of the Secretariat for Nordic Co-operation, tel. +358 295 351 556, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

English translation of the press release published on 16 September 2016.

 
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