Monday 16 May 2022 saw the start of the 3e week of the 33e European Session of Senior Armament Officials (SERA 33) in Helsinki...
The session's 75 auditors had the honour of being welcomed in the Palais des États, an impressive building dating from the 19th century.e century, in the heart of the Finnish capital. This first day opened with a welcome from Mr Antti KaikkonenMinister of Defence. After greeting the SERA listeners, the Minister focused on current affairs, namely the challenges and opportunities of Finland's bid to join NATO.
This very busy first day was followed by several conferences on the Finnish defence system and its missions. Among other things, this was an opportunity to discover the uniqueness of this armed force through the conscription system, which is relatively rare in Europe.
The auditors then returned to their committee work, the results of which will be presented at the École Militaire in June.
The day ended with a professional dinner hosted by the Director of the Finnish DGA at the Suomenlinna fortress.
33rd European Session for Armament Representatives - Week 3 - Finland.
On Monday 16th May began the third week of the 33rd European Session for Armament Representatives (SERA 33) in Helsinki.
The 75 attendees of the session had the honour to be welcomed in the House of Estates, a beautiful building of the 19th century, in the very heart of the Finnish capital city. The Minister of Defence, Mr Antti Kaikkonen, pronounced an opening speech, which has been recorded in advance. Indeed, the current events, specially the process engaged by Finland to join NATO, prevent the Minister from attending the SERA conference in a residential format. The Minister has underlined the challenges and opportunities offered by the perspective to join the North Atlantic Alliance. This first day, very dense and perfectly organized, continued with different presentations related to the Finnish armed forces, their organization and missions. This has been the occasion, among other topics, to focus on a quite unique system of conscription in Europe.
Then, the attendees met in committee session to carry on their work on specific topics, aiming to present their conclusions during the last week in June. Last but not least, the day ended with a professional dinner offered by the Finnish armaments Director at the Suomenlinna fortress.
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