Finnish President Sauli Niinistö will meet with his US counterpart Barack Obama as part of a summit with Nordic leaders in Stockholm on September 4.
Niinistö told Yle he was pleased to receive the invitation, and that he hoped to discuss global developments with Obama.
The two are to meet in conjunction with a working dinner hosted by Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt. The gathering is aimed at reinforcing the partnership between the US and the Nordic countries to meet the challenges of the future, according to a statement from Niinistö’s office.
Issues on the agenda include foreign-policy cooperation, advancing economic growth and combating climate change.
The dinner comes on the eve of Obama’s departure for the G20 summit in St Petersburg. The two-day meeting begins on September 5.
PM: Natural for presidents to meet
Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said it was natural for Niinistö to represent Finland at the Stockholm meeting. Last week, Estonian sources had said that Obama would meet with the Nordic prime ministers.
In Finland, the prime minister is head of the government and responsible for most issues except foreign policy – which is the main purview of the presidency.
In his view, the most important themes of the meeting will be the economy as well as the situation in Egypt and the rest of the Middle East.
Katainen made the comments on Thursday in Kuopio, eastern Finland, where he was meeting with other National Coalition Party cabinet ministers.