The NATO Association of Canada is hosting a discussion with H.E. Roy Eriksson, Ambassador of Finland to Canada and H.E. Urban Ahlin, Ambassador of Sweden to Canada.
After a moderated discussion, there will be a chance for questions from the audience.
Biographies
H.E. Urban Ahlin, Ambassador of Sweden to Canada
Mr. Ahlin has been serving as Sweden's Ambassador to Canada since 2019. Prior to joining the diplomatic service, Mr. Ahlin served as a Member of the Riksdag for the Vastra Gotaland constituency and was speaker of the Riksdag. During this period he served in a variety of positions to promote Sweden democratic values on the international arena. Mr. Ahlin served as Chair of OSCE PA, Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs Ambassador of Sweden, and deputy chair of the Swedish delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Mr. Ahlin successfully took part in a series of bilateral and multilateral negotiations. In 2007 he succeeded in negotiating the release of two Swedish construction workers from Iranian custody. He was the backchannel between Belarus and the United States in securing the release of imprisoned presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin. Mr Ahlin received the state Order for Merits to Lithuania in 2005 for his work in building the bilateral relationship.
H.E. Roy Eriksson, Ambassador of Finland to Canada
H.E. Roy Eriksson is the Ambassador of Finland in Canada since 2019. He arrived to Canada from Mexico, where he served as the Ambassador of Finland to Mexico, as well as being the concurrent Ambassador of Finland to Central America.
Ambassador Eriksson started his career in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland in 1990. He has served in different departments of the Ministry, the latest being the Department for Americas and Asia, where he worked as the Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. Further to Mexico, he has served in Turkey, Germany and the Finnish Permanent Mission to the European Union in Brussels. This is the second time he represents his country in Canada.
Ambassador Eriksson has a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Helsinki. He is married and has a son.
