Finnish, Swedish govts to hold joint session in Stockholm on Sep 16

The Governments of Finland and Sweden will hold a joint session in Stockholm on September 16, said an official press release on Tuesday.

The purpose of the meeting is to further deepen cooperation between the two countries.

After the joint session, each minister will take part in a separate programme with their counterpart, including visits to sites of importance for their respective areas of responsibility.

The two prime ministers will attend a seminar organised by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise in the afternoon.

At the joint session, the ministers will discuss the deteriorating security situation in Europe and the response to it at the EU and NATO levels, as well as the ongoing need to provide strong support to Ukraine.

They will also discuss deepening cooperation between Finland and Sweden in crime prevention, the transition to fossil-free energy, improving competitiveness through research and innovation, cultural exchanges between the countries and efforts to promote tourism.

At the end of the meeting, the countries will issue a joint declaration on how to further develop their cooperation.

A similar joint session was held in Hämeenlinna in May 2009, during Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen’s term in office.