President Niinistö attended Malmö International Forum on Holocaust

Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven and Minister of Education Anna Eriksson received President Niinistö at the Forum. Photo: Ninni Andersson/Government Offices of Sweden

President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö attended the Malmö International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism on Wednesday, 13 October 2021. The purpose of the Forum was to take concrete steps forward in the work on Holocaust remembrance and the fight against antisemitism. The event was hosted by Prime Minister of Sweden Stefan Löfven.

Speaking at a seminar, Holocaust survivor Dina Rajs said in her speech that there were good people who helped them. This was not easy; these people took risks.

“What if we decided to be good people now, so that helping never becomes difficult,” President Niinistö said in his speech.

In Malmö, President Niinistö met with King Carl Gustav XVI of Sweden and Queen Silvia, who were guests of the Forum. President Niinistö also had a bilateral meeting with Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission. The topics of discussion included migration and European security.

Remember ReAct Forum was attended by heads of state and government, researchers, experts and civil society representatives from around 50 countries.

The Forum was to take place in 2020, 75 years after the end of the Second World War and the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It also marked 20 years since the first Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust, and the establishment of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Malmö Forum was postponed by one year.

In Malmö, President Niinistö met with King Carl Gustav XVI of Sweden and Queen Silvia, who were guests of the Forum. Photo: Jouni Mölsä/Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
In Malmö, President Niinistö met with King Carl Gustav XVI of Sweden and Queen Silvia, who were guests of the Forum. Photo: Jouni Mölsä/Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
President Niinistö had a bilateral meeting with Margaritis Schinas, Vice-President of the European Commission. Photo: Jouni Mölsä/Office of the President of the Republic of Finland