Finland will officially become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on April 4, 2023.
This is contained in a statement by the Office of the President of the Republic of Finland on Monday.
NATO, founded in 1949, presently has 30 countries from Europe and North America as members, and exists to protect the people and territory of its members.
According to the statement, the President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinistö will travel to Brussels and attend an accession ceremony at NATO Headquarters.
Similarly, Finland will deposit its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Brussels on Tuesday, 4 April, before the start of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs.
The deposit will be made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto, and the flag-raising ceremony marking Finland’s accession to NATO, will be held at NATO Headquarters after the deposit.
President Niinistö and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will deliver remarks at the event. Before the ceremony, the President and the Secretary General will have a bilateral meeting and a joint press meeting.
In addition to President Niinistö and Foreign Minister Haavisto, Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will attend the flag-raising ceremony.
