President elaborates on challenges in 2nd term

President Sauli Niinistö has said in a recent interview with Xinhua that he has three major challenges during his second tenure of presidency, namely fighting climate change, regulating migration, and enhancing international security.

Niinistö was re-elected following a landslide victory in the national election in January, and officially took office on Feb. 1. He attributed his popularity to the voters' preference for stability.

Reviewing his first term, Niinistö said it was a turbulent period. The six years witnessed warfare in the Middle East, clashes in eastern Ukraine, and refugee crisis across Europe. "My idea has been to try to keep Finland on a stable road, having good relations with our neighbors and even worldwide. So far it has been successful," said the President.

While the prime minister is in charge of domestic issues and matters related to the European Union (EU), the president has largely played a key role in maintaining the country's relations with the outside world especially non-EU countries.

In the year 2017, Niinistö met Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump in different occasions. He said he did so not only to enhance Finland, but to discuss the wider issues.

"It is useful for us to know what the big ones are thinking, and sometimes we can also give so-called good services if needed," said the President.

Looking to the future, Niinistö singled out climate change as his primary challenge. "In a sense, whatever happens the other side of the globe has an impact on us, and the other way round. So we are in a common boat," he said.

The migration wave poses another challenge for the president, especially the migrants from Africa to Europe. He believed that it is crucial to help the Africans live a better life in their hometown rather than to relocate them in Europe. As for the Middle East migrants, it is "a question of peace building," he added.

Niinistö also called for a common policy within the EU, with keeping the EU borders guarded as one focus.

The president sees security worldwide as another challenge, saying trying to build peace will be one of his main targets. He explained that the situation in the Middle East and Korean peninsula affects everybody.

Committed to curbing the negative impact of the above three global issues on Finland, Niinistö mentioned the importance of international cooperation, including the efforts from China.

Finland has signed the Paris agreement on fighting climate change. "China is very much enhancing the agreement," said Niinistö, "and we must work together so that everybody is on board."

He stressed the need to respect the principles laid out in the agreement, especially as Finland is chairing the Arctic Council in 2017-2019.

"There is a specific problem in the Arctic, which is black carbon." Through emissions, black carbon may spread over the ice and snow in the Arctic, and speed up the melt.

"If we lose the Arctic, we lose the globe," he underlined.