19.08.2025
Decision-makers discuss Finland's security and growth in Oulu
The Northern Security and Economic Forum will be held on Thursday 21.8.2025 in the Pohjankartano Hall in Oulu. The event will be organised for the third time and will bring together decision-makers from state organisations, municipalities, cities and universities, representatives of stakeholders in overall security and business leaders in Oulu.
The theme for 2025 is Northern Resilience and 300 participants are expected to attend the event. The City of Oulu will produce the event and its partners are the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia and the University of Oulu.
“The City of Oulu wants to play an active role in building a strong, safe and crisis-proof Finland. It is great to see that the Oulu Security Forum has become a significant and interesting place for discussion and meeting. This year's theme is resilience, the ability to be flexible and adapt to current changes. We are delighted to be able to host a debate in which diplomats and top Finnish experts will be able to make their voices heard", says the Mayor of Oulu. Ari Alatossava.
Region Mayor Jussi Rämet is pleased that the security and economic forum, which was organised three years ago on the basis of the idea presented by the Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia, is of interest to the actors in the region. He hopes for a lively discussion and a lot of participation. Regional ERDF funding is intended to target defence investments and military mobility funding.
“Developing the transport infrastructure in Northern Finland in a changed context supports our security needs and economic growth. Military mobility and the European track gauge will help to coordinate the EU's objectives in cooperation with NATO", says Jussi Rämet.
“Research and education play a key role in making communities more resilient to crises and in developing technologies. For example, our 6G test centre serves the research and development of wireless communications and communications by providing access to a world-class test infrastructure", Rector of the University of Oulu Arto Manninen says.
Prime Minister Petteri Orpon The Northern Finland Programme, which is included in the Government Programme, highlights the change in the geopolitical significance of the region, the opportunities for economic growth and security. The North offers solutions for Finland, Europe and the world. The Northern Security and Economic Forum in Oulu brings these themes to the discussion and creates a shared situational picture for decision-makers in the public and private sectors.
The Finnish Consul General in New York will speak at the event Jarmo Sareva the Finnish Ambassador to NATO Piritta Asunmaa. Other co-initiators are the Deputy Head of Unit Jonas Cederlöf European Commission, Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS), Director Petri Knape the National Security Unit of the Ministry of the Interior and the Director Iikka Korhonen The Bank of Finland. Director-General participating in the panel discussion Sari Heinonen LocalTapiola Group, Professor James Simonen University of Oulu and Managing Director Aki Kangasharju Research Institute of Economics.
