Office of the President of the Republic
Press Release 15/2014
1 April 2014
President of the Swiss Confederation Didier Burkhalter and his spouse will make a state visit to Finland on 6-8 April 2014. President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and his spouse Jenni Haukio will welcome the guests at an official reception ceremony in front of the Government Banquet Hall, Smolna, on Eteläesplanadi on Monday 7 April at 11 am.
In their discussions, the Presidents will address such issues as bilateral and trade relations between Finland and Switzerland, and the relations between the EU and Switzerland. As regards international affairs, the focus will be on the crisis in Ukraine in particular. Switzerland is the current holder of the Chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The OSCE has decided to deploy an approximately one-hundred-strong group of observers to Ukraine, with Finland participating as well.
Later in the afternoon, President Burkhalter and his spouse will visit Aalto University and lay a wreath at the Hietaniemi Cemetery.
On Tuesday 8 April, President Burkhalter will meet Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, and visit the Finnish Parliament.
President Niinistö made a state visit to Switzerland in October 2013.