On 28 February, the Finnish Embassy in Riga hosted an event for presentation of the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers held by Finland together with the government of Åland. This year’s co-presidency seeks to address three key areas: welfare of children and young people, the bolstering of overall security, and improving Nordic competitiveness.
The event was well attended, with representatives from Nordic and Latvian cooperation organisations warmly welcomed by Anne Saloranta, the Ambassador of Finland to Latvia. She introduced the upcoming events at the Finnish Embassy and listed key projects planned for the year. She also praised the Dialogue Movement recently launched in Latvia – an initiative inspired by Finland’s experience.
Ann Sofie Stude, Head of the Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, outlined and explained the priorities of the presidency. The focus is on strengthening cooperation among the Nordic countries and with the Baltic States, enhancing resilience and preparedness for diverse potential crises and hybrid threats.
The presidency programme emphasises the need for a coordinated and comprehensive approach to crisis response across all policy sectors. It also outlines measures to position the Nordic region as a strong European actor, capable of quick and effective response to challenges such as natural disasters, pandemics and organised crime.
Anna Sofie Stude further elaborated on the seven priority areas identified as critical for building resilient societies: psychological resilience, leadership, international activities, defense capability, internal security, economy, infrastructure and security of supply, and functional capacity of the population and services.
For more details on the Finnish and Ålandic presidency, please follow this link.
