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Dear friends of the Helsinki Security Forum,

Encouraged by last year’s feedback, it is our aim to replicate HSF’s intimate “fireside” atmosphere also in 2023 – quality trumps quantity and all participants feel equally included.

The difference is that this year, HSF takes place on NATO territory. Finland became the 31^st member of the Alliance on 4 April 2023. Tragically, what has not changed is that the HSF is held amidst the Russian unlawful aggression against Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Finland had parliamentary elections. A new government has been in place since 20 June, and presidential elections are to follow in January 2024.

For an incoming government it is customary to prepare, roughly within its first year, a report on foreign and security policy. In some ways, the current government’s report will be easier to compile as the question “to be or not to be” of Finland’s NATO memberships has become redundant. However, as this report will be the first one after Finland has joined NATO, it will carry significant weight as a message to our international and domestic audiences of what kind of a NATO profile Finland decides to assume.

What is already clear is that Finland is adding to NATO’s value. Let me illustrate this with some selected examples.

• Capabilities. Next to her well-known military “hardware”, Finland brings to the table a conscript system, which allows us to mobilize close to one million reservists. This is of a population of 5.5 million.
• Pro-defense attitude of the Finnish population. In recent polls, more than 80 percent of the Finns declared readiness to take up arms in defense of the country.
• Snowhow. Finland stretches from the Arctic to the Baltic Sea, and it has an 800-mile border with Russia. As the strategic importance of the High North is increasing, Finland and Sweden add to the Alliance’s Arctic presence and skillset.
• Resilience against cyber and hybrid threats. With Finnish and Swedish NATO memberships two out of the three global 5G and 6G providers are moving into the Alliance. Besides Nokia and Ericsson, the third one is, of course, the Chinese Huawei. Finland is also a leader in quantum computing. Finland’s strong educational system combined with a high media literacy is a vaccination against disinformation. Finland hosts the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats.
• Concept of total defense. This means that military and civilian structures together with the private sector and civil society are acting as one.
• Experience. Finland has lived alongside Russia for centuries. It has been a challenging relationship, where Finland has pursued a steady course – aiming for stability and security for herself and her neighbors. This should be an asset also for the Alliance.

Finland’s decision to join NATO was taken in a highly volatile security environment, which unfortunately remains in a deep flux. By convening some of the sharpest security policy minds to Helsinki, we hope to gain insights and inputs, which might inspire us to refine our policies and actions.

Kai Sauer is the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Security Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, and Chair of the Board of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs.