NATO Secretary General: We will welcome Finland as the 31st member of our Alliance

As NATO foreign ministers meet in Brussels today (4 April 2023), Finland will become the 31st member of the Alliance. “On this very day, in 1949, the Washington Treaty, NATO’s founding treaty, was signed in Washington and it is hard to imagine a better way of celebrating our anniversary than to have Finland becoming a full member of the Alliance,” said Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Previewing the meetings of foreign ministers, the Secretary General said that Allies will address NATO’s support to Ukraine, security challenges emanating from the Middle East and North Africa, the importance of increased defence investments, and NATO’s Indo-Pacific partnerships.