Minister of Defence Niinistö to visit Canada and Alaska

Minister of Defence Jussi Niinistö will make a working visit to North America on 15 to 18 October 2018.

In Ottawa, Canada, Minister Niinistö will meet Canada's Minister of National Defence Harjit Singh Sajjan. The ministers will discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, security situation in the northern regions and materiel cooperation.

Minister Niinistö will then travel to Alaska where he will familiarise himself with the on-going Red Flag exercise held by the United States Air Force. Finland will deploy six F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters to the exercise. The Finnish detachment consisting of around 70 personnel will operate at Eielson Air Force Base.

The Red Flag exercise held in Alaska and Nevada is considered one of the most challenging air combat training exercises in the world. The decision to participate in international training and exercises is based on the policy set by the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy in December 2017. Finland's participation in the Flag exercise is included in the Defence Forces Exercise Plan 2018.

Inquiries: Lari Pietiläinen, Aid-de-Camp to the Minister of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 102; and Senior Advisor Kristian Vakkuri on communications, tel. +358 295 140 123.