French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Norway on Monday and Tuesday (June 23 and 24) to strengthen cooperation, particularly in the field of defense, before leaving for the NATO summit, the Elysée Palace announced.

During the first visit by a French head of state to the Scandinavian country since 1984, the two countries "will elevate their relations to the rank of strategic partnership with the signing of an agreement that will structure and strengthen already close relations in the areas of security and defense, competitiveness, innovation and modern technologies, energy and environmental transition," the French presidential administration said, quoted by AFP.

“The visit will highlight France's continued commitment to the northern and Arctic regions, particularly in the area of security,” the presidency added after a several-hour stop in Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, where on Sunday Emmanuel Macron expressed “European solidarity” with Donald Trump's intentions.

The visit to Norway, a NATO member but not a member of the European Union, will be “an opportunity to reaffirm the European position on the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.”

Emmanuel Macron will attend the Atlantic Alliance summit in The Hague, Netherlands, in the middle of the week. | BGNES