The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg says on Monday that Finland will become the 31st member of the world’s biggest military alliance on Tuesday.
Stoltenberg said From Tuesday Finland will be a full member of the alliance.
“Tomorrow we will welcome Finland as the 31st member of NATO making Finland safer and our alliance stronger,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stated.
According to Stoltenberg, he hopes Sweden will be able to join NATO in coming months.
“We will raise the Finnish flag for the first time here at the NATO headquarters. It will be a good day for Finland’s security, for Nordic security, and for NATO as a whole.” The former Norwegian prime minister said.
Stoltenberg said that Turkey, the last country to have ratified Finland’s membership, will hand its official texts to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday.
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö and Defense Minister Antti Kaikkonen will attend the ceremony, along with Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.
Haavisto expressed hope that the feat would promote stability and security throughout the Euro-Atlantic region.
Turkey had officially approved Finland’s bid to become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, NATO.
Turkey had been delaying Findland’s move to join NATO for some time now over allegation of Finland’s support for terrorists.
In a statement, the Finnish government said joining NATO would be of immense benefit to its citizens as it would strengthen the country’s security.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier last month given his approval to Finland’s bid to join NATO.
Writing by Oluwaseyi Ajibade; Editing by Adeniyi Bakare