The American president Joe Biden will go on a diplomatic tour of Europe from July 9 to 13, visiting Britain, the NATO summit in Lithuania and then Finland, the White House announced.

Biden will meet with King Charles III and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in London to “tighten the close ties” that unite Britain and the United Statesexplained his representative Karin Jean-Pierre.

Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles will meet the US president at Windsor Castle on July 10.

Biden will then travel to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to attend the NATO summit on July 11 and 12, his spokeswoman said, according to the press release.

For the final stop of his trip, in Helsinki, Joe Biden will go to a summit between American leaders and their Nordic counterparts on July 13.

Finland officially joined the NATO in April. The country had applied to join in February 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, submitting its request at the same time as Sweden.

However, Stockholm is still waiting. Despite being “invited” to the Alliance from June 2022, its candidacy, which must be ratified by the 31 member states, is blocked by Turkey and Hungary.

Before his trip, the American president will receive Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristerson at the White House on Wednesday to discuss his country’s accession process.

Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto has announced that he will welcome the US president’s visit and host a US-Nordic summit in Helsinki. The prime ministers of Sweden Ulf Kristerson, Norway Jonas Gar Stere, Denmark Mette Frederiksen and Iceland Katrin Jacobsdottir will also attend the summit. The discussions will be held at the presidential palace and will focus on closer cooperation between the US and Nordic countries in the fields of security, environment and technology.

“This is the third meeting between the leaders of the Nordic countries and the US. The previous meetings were held in Stockholm in 2013 and in Washington in 2016. It is my pleasure to continue our discussions this time in Helsinki,” said Niinisto.

Before the summit, the Finnish president will have a bilateral meeting with his American counterpart.

Biden, who took office in the White House in January 2021, has yet to travel to Germany as US president.