Finnish President Sauli Niinistö is headed to the United States for a five-day visit, the president's office has announced in a Thursday morning press statement.
Along with foreign and security issues, Niinistö's bi-coastal trip will also focus on economic and technological cooperation, according to the release.
Niinistö's trip will begin on the west coast, in Seattle, Washington, on Monday 6 March. He is scheduled to meet Governor Jay Inslee and attend a State Senate session, where the Finnish President will hold an address about transatlantic cooperation. He will also visit companies in the area and attend a security policy discussion at the National Nordic Museum.
The following day, Niinistö will head to Palo Alto, in California’s San Francisco Bay Area. At an event at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, Niinistö is scheduled to take part in a discussion about "security policy, great power competition and new technologies."
Later in the day, the Finnish president is to meet with California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis to discuss various topics, including the green and digital transitions. Then the pair will take part in the Bifrost Summit, an event that presents "innovative Nordic entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley," according to the release.
On Thursday 9 March, Niinistö will be in Washington DC and meet with US Senators to discuss Finland's Nato membership application, transatlantic partnership and European security.
On the trip's final day, the Finnish president will visit the Norfolk Naval Station in the state of Virginia, the headquarters of the US Navy's Fleet Forces Command and the largest naval base in the world. He is also scheduled to meet Virginia's Governor, Glenn Youngkin.
Niinistö will be joined by a business delegation "from a wide range of industries," according to the president's office.
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