Finland to become NATO member on Tuesday

Finland will become a Member of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on Tuesday, said office of the President and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in separate press releasees on Monday.

Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will deposit Finland's instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty in Brussels with the US State Department on Tuesday.

Finland will become a NATO member country at the moment of the deposition.

Haavisto will also represent Finland at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs starting on the same day.

After Finland has become a member of NATO, the Foreign Minister will deposit Finland’s instrument of accession for Sweden’s NATO membership.

After the deposit, NATO Headquarters and NATO's military headquarters will honour Finland's membership by raising the Finnish flag.

President Sauli Niinistö, Haavisto and Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will be present on the occasion of the flag-raising ceremony.

NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs will meet in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“This will be the first meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs which Finland attends as a member of the Alliance. It is a historic moment for us. For Finland, the most important objective at the meeting will be to emphasise NATO's support to Ukraine as Russia continues its illegal aggression. We seek to promote stability and security throughout the Euro-Atlantic region,” said Haavisto.

Finland will deposit its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Brussels on Tuesday, 4 April, before the start of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The deposit will be made by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The flag-raising ceremony marking Finland's accession to NATO will be held at NATO Headquarters after the deposit.

Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday announced that Finland will be a member of NATO on Tuesday.

“Tomorrow (Tuesday), we will welcome Finland as the thirty-first member of NATO. Making Finland safer and our Alliance stronger. We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters,” .

It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole. Stoltenberg told in Brussels on Monday.