Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press release 35/2023
12 October 2023
President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö will make a state visit to Italy with his spouse, Jenni Haukio, on 23–24 October 2023.
President Niinistö will hold formal discussions with President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, at the Quirinal Palace in Rome on Monday 23 October. The Presidents’ discussions will focus on current security policy issues and bilateral relations between Finland and Italy.
In the afternoon, President Niinistö will meet Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, over a working lunch and have discussions with Lorenzo Fontana, President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
The presidential couple will also lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and attend a dinner hosted by President Mattarella and his daughter Laura Mattarella.
On Tuesday 24 October, the presidential couple will travel to Naples, where President Niinistö will visit NATO’s Allied Joint Force Command and meet its commander, Admiral Stuart B. Munsch. The presidential couple will also attend a lunch hosted by President Mattarella and Laura Mattarella at the official residence of the President, Villa Rosebery.
In addition to the joint programme of the presidential couple, Jenni Haukio will have a tour of the art collection at the Quirinal Palace with Laura Mattarella and visit art-historical and cultural heritage sites in Rome and Naples.
President Niinistö previously visited Italy to attend a meeting of the Arraiolos Group, which consists of Europen Presidents, in 2021. President Mattarella paid a state visit to Finland in 2017.
Press release modified on 23 October 2023: Removed information about the meeting with Ignazio La Russa, President of the Italian Senate.