President Halonen in Lisbon

President Halonen and Secretary General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen met in Mäntyniemi on 4 March 2010. Photo: Lehtikuva

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb and Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies  participated in the summit meeting on Afghanistan organised in connection with the NATO Summit in Lisbon on Saturday, 20 November.

In addition to NATO members, countries participating in the ISAF operation were also invited to the summit meeting on Afghanistan. Guests invited to participate also included President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, President of the World Bank Robert Zoellick and President of the European Council Herman van Rompuy.

The summit meeting focused on the current situation and outlook in Afghanistan and the actions of the international community. Topics included President Karzai’s objective of transferring the responsibility for the country’s security to Afghan authorities by the end of 2014, an objective supported by the international community.

Lisbon was also the venue for the Summit of the NATO–Russia Council held in connection with the NATO Summit on Saturday, 20 November.