The major event MaanpuolustusAreena, which has attracted national and international attention, will be held in Riihimäki on the first day of the Erämessut fair on Friday 7 June 2024, open to the public from 13:00 to 15:00, along with an invitation-only seminar from 15:00 to 20:00. See the event programme here.

Jouni Eho, Mayor of Riihimäki

Why is Riihimäki investing in creating a defence and security ecosystem and in accelerating defence and security innovations? What do the defence and security actors of the Riihimäki region have to offer Finland, the world and NATO? Jouni Eho, Mayor of Riihimäki, will open MaanpuolustusAreena 2024, now organised for the first time.

 

Major General Sami Nurmi, Chief of Strategy of the Finnish Defence Forces

What does Finland have to offer NATO? In Finland, NATO gains a new member country whose people and political leadership have unanimously seen the military alliance as bringing security to the North. What does Finland have to offer NATO militarily and in terms of defence policy, and what new technological capabilities does NATO gain with Finland? The topic will be addressed by the Defence Forces’ new Chief of Strategy, Major General Sami Nurmi.

 

Risto E. J. Penttilä, CEO of Nordic West Office

The new cold war of the economy and technology. A new cold war is under way in the world, fought with the tools of trade and technology between China and the USA. Who gets strategically important raw materials and components, and who gets the latest technology? The topic will be addressed by Risto E. J. Penttilä, CEO of the consultancy Nordic West Office. Penttilä holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford. He has previously led the Finland Chamber of Commerce and the Finnish Business and Policy Forum EVA. Penttilä is known, among other things, for predicting Finland’s NATO steps with astonishing accuracy six months before Finland joined NATO as a member.

Panel discussion – How does Finland take care of itself in this global situation?

MaanpuolustusAreena culminates in a panel discussion in which Finland’s future threat scenarios and preparedness will be discussed by Professor of Cybersecurity and Member of Parliament Jarno Limnéll, the Defence Forces’ new Chief of Strategy, Major General Sami Nurmi, and the CEO of Patria, Finland’s largest defence industry company, Esa Rautalinko. The panel discussion will be moderated by Arto Räty.

 

Performances by the Conscript Band

The Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces is an energetic and sharp-edged group of nearly one hundred young and skilled men and women performing their military service. The Conscript Band can be heard twice during MaanpuolustusAreena.