Office of the President of the Republic
Press Release 44/2016
29 August 2016
King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway will make a state visit to Finland from 5 to 8 September 2016, at the invitation of President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and Mrs Jenni Haukio. The programme for the visit will focus on the economy, health and education in particular. The royal couple will visit Oulu in addition to Helsinki.
The state visit will begin with reception ceremonies in front of the Presidential Palace on the morning of Tuesday 6 September. Members of the general public can watch the ceremonies from the Market Square, beginning at 10.15 am. Official talks will be held at the Presidential Palace after the ceremonies. On Tuesday, the King and Queen will also visit the Finnish Parliament in the company of Speaker of the Finnish Parliament Maria Lohela, meet with Prime Minister Juha Sipilä and lay a wreath at the Hietaniemi Cemetery. In addition, the King and Queen and the presidential couple will enjoy a lunch, provided by the City of Helsinki, at the City Hall. At the end of the day, President Niinistö and Mrs Haukio will host a celebratory dinner at the Presidential Palace.
On Wednesday, the presidential couple and the royal couple will participate in an economic seminar held at Wanha Satama, which will focus on subjects such as the game industry, and digital information systems and services in health care,i.e. e-health. The afternoon will include a visit to the medical research and education centre Biomedicum, as well as roundtable business discussions. A concert and a reception at the Kalastajatorppa Hotel are on the Norwegian royal couple’s evening programme.
The programme for the state visit will continue in Oulu on Thursday. Minister of Economic Affairs Olli Rehn and his spouse, as well as senior members of the city administration, will play host to the royal couple during their visit to Oulu. During the day, King Harald and Queen Sonja will visit the University of Oulu, Nokia’s Rusko factory and Oulu University Hospital. The royal pair and their delegation will have lunch, as guests of the City of Oulu, at Oulu City Hall.
The delegation for the state visits will include several Norwegian ministers; Foreign Minister Børge Brende, Minister of Trade and Industry Monica Mæland, Minister of Health and Care Services Bent Høie and Minister of Defence Ine Eriksen Søreide, as well as a large business delegation.
President Niinistö and his spouse made a state visit to Norway in October 2012.