President Niinistö visited Israel

President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö visited Israel on 21–24 January 2020. During his visit, President Niinistö attended the World Holocaust Forum in Jerusalem. His programme also included a bilateral meeting with President of the State of Israel Reuven Rivlin, dinner for the Heads of State and Government hosted by President Rivlin as part of the Holocaust Forum as well as other meetings. In addition to Jerusalem, President Niinistö visited Tel Aviv where he attended a reception organized by the Embassy of Finland to launch the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and Israel.

The World Holocaust Forum at Yad Vashem

The World Holocaust Forum entitled “Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism” gathered over 40 world leaders at the invitation of President Rivlin to Jerusalem on Thursday 23 January. The Forum, organized by the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, has been previously held in Poland in 2005 and 2010, Ukraine in 2006 and the Czech Republic in 2015. This year the event commemorated the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz.

70 years of diplomatic relations between Finland and Israel

President Niinistö’s visit also coincided with the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and Israel. Finland recognized the state of Israel de facto already in June 1948, a month after the declaration of independence. De jure recognition was made among the first countries in March 1949 after Israel had got her first President Chaim Weizmann and first permanent government led by David Ben Gurion. Diplomatic relations were established in November 1950 when the first Israeli Ambassador got his agrément to Finland. Embassy of Finland in Tel Aviv was opened in 1952. Israel opened her Embassy in Helsinki in 1956.

The anniversary year was launched in the presence of President Niinistö and we will continue to celebrate this special year and the active ties between Finland and Israel throughout the whole year with events related to culture and education cooperation among others.

More photos and compilation of the social media posts of President Niinistö’s visit are available on the official web page of the President of the Republic of Finland