Sweden’s and Finland’s Governments held historic meeting in Stockholm

SWEDEN, September 24 - The joint meeting was the second ever for Sweden and Finland, and the first for the two countries on Swedish soil. It lasted two hours and resulted in the signing of a joint declaration on enhanced cooperation between the countries.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson – who described Finland as Sweden’s closest partner ahead of the meeting – held a joint press conference at Rosenbad together with Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo to discuss the declaration and enhanced cooperation.

The declaration includes the efforts for a secure, green and free Nordic region, the importance of continued strong support to Ukraine, cooperation to strengthen competitiveness at national and EU levels and enhanced cooperation on law enforcement. The ambition of attracting highly qualified international workers, enhanced cooperation in the areas of research, development and innovation, joint efforts to promote children’s and young people’s health and continued cooperation in the areas of culture and international tourism are also included.

The Swedish and Finnish ministers took part in a large number of visits and activities around Stockholm in the afternoon. These included visits to a higher vocational education institution, a fire station, the Baltic Sea Science Center at Skansen, Värtaverket’s thermal power station, the ports of Stockholm, a family centre and school in Rinkeby, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency headquarters and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Mr Kristersson, Mr Orpo, Sweden’s Minister for Energy, Business and Industry Ebba Busch and Finland’s Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman also took part in a business seminar held by the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and the Confederation of Finnish Industries at Storgatan to discuss how to jointly enhance Sweden's, Finland's and the EU's competitiveness.

The day concluded with a mingle in the Sager House and a dinner and art tour at Sven-Harrys konstmuseum.