President Niinistö at the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague

President of the Republic attended the international Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague on 24–25 March. The purpose of the Summit, which began on Monday, is to prevent nuclear terrorism particularly by improving nuclear material security. Finland was one of more than 50 countries invited to The Hague in addition to representatives from international organisations.

In his speech, President Niinistö stressed the importance of independent national supervisory authorities and cooperation between authorities. “Nuclear power and security cannot be compromised because of commercial or political pressures,” said President Niinistö.

Finland’s Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority is an internationally respected expert authority on nuclear safety issues. Next year, Finland will be hosting the Plenary Meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT).

Ukraine mentioned in discussions

President Niinistö engaged in discussion with several heads of state during the Summit. On Sunday, President Niinistö met Xi Jinping, President of China. Their discussion topics included the Ukraine crisis. Both Presidents emphasised the importance of efforts of the international community to attain a peaceful solution. The discussion also covered economic cooperation between China and Finland and Finnish cleantech expertise.

On Monday, President Niinistö met President of Turkey Abdullah Gül and President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbaev. With both of them, the discussion concerned bilateral affairs and the Ukraine crisis. President Niinistö also talked about Ukraine with President of the United States Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron at the Summit.

The Nuclear Security Summit was convened at the initiative of President Obama. Previous Summits were held in Washington in 2010 and in Seoul in 2012, and the 2016 Summit is scheduled to be held in the USA.

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