NATO Secretary General with the President of Finland 🇫🇮 Sauli Niinistö, 04 APR 2023

Press statement by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with the President of Finland, Sauli Niinistö, 4 April 2023. 🗣 | NATO Secretary General: President Niinistö, Dear Sauli, It is a special honour to welcome you here on this historic day. As Finland becomes the thirty-first member of NATO. In a few moments, we will raise the Finnish flag at NATO Headquarters for the first time. From today, 31 flags will fly together. A symbol of our unity and our solidarity. Joining NATO is good for Finland. It is good for Nordic security. And it is good for NATO as a whole. Finland brings substantial and highly capable forces. Expertise in national resilience. And years of experience working side by side with NATO Allies. I am deeply proud to welcome Finland as a full-fledged member of our Alliance. And I look forward to also welcoming Sweden as soon as possible. At times like these, friends and Allies are more important than ever. And Finland now has the strongest friends and Allies in the world. President Putin wanted to slam NATO’s door shut. Today, we show the world that he failed. That aggression and intimidation do not work. Instead of less NATO, he has achieved the opposite. More NATO. And our door remains firmly open. President Niinistö, dear Sauli, Thank you for your outstanding leadership and commitment. And for leading Finland into the most successful Alliance in history. So welcome, it is great to have you here. Welcome to the Alliance.