Minister of Defence Niinistö to visit Washington

Minister of Defence Jussi Niinistö will make a working visit to Washington on 7-10 May 2018. He is to meet the United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Sweden's Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist.

The ministers are to discuss the overall security policy situation and current themes in defence cooperation between the three countries.
The ministers will also sign a trilateral Statement of Intent (SOI). After signing similar SOIs with the United States in 2016, both Finland and Sweden have enjoyed positive bilateral defence relations with the United States and the goal is to apply the model also to trilateral defence cooperation in the future.

A trilateral SOI complements and brings together previously agreed thematic entities; through cooperation it is possible, for instance, to make sure that overlapping activities or competitive situations are avoided in international exercises and trainings. Finnish and Swedish defence ministers have informed their parliaments on 19 April 2018.

Defence Minister Niinistö is also to give a presentation on the security situation in the Baltric Sea region at the Atlantic Council on Tuesday 8 May.
Inquiries: Janne Kuusela, Director General, Defence Policy Department, tel. +358 295 140 300, and Ministerial Adviser Pete Piirainen, tel. +358 295 140097.