President Tarja Halonen to make first state visit to Sweden on 2. - 3 May 2000

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Committee Counsellor Pentti Arajärvi will make a state visit to Sweden at the invitation of King Carl XVI Gustaf on 2-3.5.2000. It will be her first state trip since assuming office at the beginning of March. As our closest Nordic neighbour, Sweden has traditionally been the first country visited by a new President of Finland.

On the first day of her visit the President will have political discussions with Prime Minister Göran Persson. The items on the agenda are bilateral relations, EU policy and topical issues in the sphere of foreign and security policy.

The close economic ties between Finland and Sweden will also be examined during the visit. Sweden is Finland’s second-biggest trade partner. In addition to traditional exports and imports, trade and economic relations encompass also considerable investments and corporate mergers. During her visit the President will be briefed on economic relations between the two countries and meet representatives of Swedish industry and of the Finnish-Swedish Chamber of Commerce.

There will also be meetings with representatives of Finnish organisations in Sweden and a visit to the Finnish Church in Stockholm, in addition to which the President will give a guest lecture entitled "At the Core of Europe and a Non-Participant in Military Alliances – Finnish Thoughts and Experiences" at the University of Stockholm.