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| Last update: 11-Dec-2007 16:02 | NATO Update |
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Secretary General visits Finland
NATO Secretary General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer paid a one-day visit to Helsinki on 9 September for talks with political leaders on the future of NATO’s partnerships after the Alliance’s Istanbul Summit. The Secretary General met with President Tarja Halonen, Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Defence Minister Seppo Kaariainen. He also held discussions with parliamentarians and delivered a lecture at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. The talks focused on NATO’s relations with Western European Partner Countries following NATO’s Istanbul Summit and the Alliance’s current agenda. A continuing priority Mr. De Hoop Scheffer emphasized that partnership remains a key aspect of NATO’s strategy of “projecting stability”. He also said that the recent NATO enlargement and a greater focus on relations with countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia would not detract from cooperation with European partners. “Our Western European Partners, Finland among them, remain the most active and capable. NATO and these Partners have made a strategic investment with this Partnership – an investment that pays off day to day, from Pristina to Kabul,” he said in his lecture. The Istanbul Summit opened up new avenues for cooperation with partners, Mr. De Hoop Scheffer pointed out. This includes the possibility of participating in the NATO Response Force or the Partnership Action Plan on Defence Institution Building. The Secretary General also praised Finland for its contribution to NATO’s peacekeeping operations in the Balkans and Afghanistan, as well as Partnership for Peace training activities. The visit was part of the Secretary General’s traditional round of visits to NATO partner countries. Finland has been a partner country since 1994.
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