Kultaranta Talks 2023 begin on Sunday

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press release 21/2023
13 June 2023

President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö will host the Kultaranta Talks on 18–19 June 2023 at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. The foreign and security policy event is entitled “Tougher competition, deeper divisions – How will Finland respond to new global challenges?”.

The talks will begin on Sunday 18 June at 6.15 pm with an address by President Niinistö and a discussion on the global geopolitical situation, great power competition and Finland’s security and international position.

On the morning of Monday 19 June, the discussions will continue at 9.45 am with the topic: The new era of geopolitics – Will the world become divided? The panellists will be Minister Jaakko Iloniemi; Linda Jakobson, Senior Advisor, China Office of Finnish Industries; and Professor Liisa Laakso, Senior Researcher, Nordic Africa Institute. The moderator of the discussion will be journalist Jan Andersson.

The second discussion of the day at 11:30 am will concern Finland as a militarily allied country. The panellists discussing the subject will be Piritta Asunmaa, Director General, Political Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs; Tapio Juntunen, Instructor, University of Tampere; Lieutenant General Kim Jäämeri, serving as Military Representative of Finland to the EU and NATO; and Matti Pesu, Leading Researcher, Finnish Institute of International Affairs. The discussion will be moderated by journalist Annika Damström.

In the last discussion on Monday, starting at 2 pm, the topic will be global technology competition and security. The panellists will be Mikko Hyppönen, Chief Research Officer, WithSecure; Tuuli Koivu, Chief Economist, Nordea; Saana Nilsson, Head of Cabinet at Finnish Security and Intelligence Service; and Valtteri Vuorisalo, Professor of Practice, University of Tampere. The discussion will be moderated by journalist and podcaster Isak Rautio.

The Kultaranta Talks will end with the closing remarks by the President of the Republic of Finland at 3.30 pm.

This year, about a hundred participants from various sectors of society have been invited to the Kultaranta Talks. Participants include policymakers, researchers, and representatives of government, business, organisations and the media. The talks will be hosted by journalist Keijo Leppänen.

The Finnish Broadcasting Company will broadcast the event live on Yle TV1 and Yle Areena.