Current affairs

Speech by Minister Ville Skinnari at the Annual Ministerial Meeting of LDCs 17.9.2020

Finland Promotion Board’s ‘Hän’ campaign won the Grand Prix Award for the greatest marketing achievement of the year 2019 and the Gold Award as the best entry in the text series in the competition Vuoden Huiput

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Brussels on Monday 21 September. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The main topics on the agenda will be Belarus, the relationship between the EU and the African Union, and Libya.

At the presidential session on Friday 18 September, the President of the Republic appointed a new ambassador and decided on two authorisations to represent Finland.

The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals are a positive example of what the world can accomplish by working together. In September, the matter is debated in the UN and on social media influencer's channels.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Berlin on 20-22 September 2020.

On 17 September 2020, 17 participating States of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) decided to commission a report on serious human rights violations related to the presidential election in Belarus. Finland is one of the countries that took part in the decision.

The European Court of Human Rights issued a judgement concerning Finland on 17 September 2020, finding a violation of Article 2 (right to life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The budget proposal focuses on improvements to the ability of Finland’s missions abroad to operate effec-tively; participation in international crisis management, conflict prevention and mediation; measures to en-sure an appropriate level of development finance; and post-crisis measures following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic and post-crisis management greatly highlight the need for international cooperation. Post-pandemic recovery funding, such as the EU’s recovery package, will also bring new opportunities for commercial and economic cooperation.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most events of the high-level week and the 75th anniversary session of the United Nations General Assembly will be held virtually this year. President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will speak at the 75th UN General Assembly

The official opening of the European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management took place in Berlin today. Johanna Sumuvuori, State Secretary for Political Affairs at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, participated in the opening, which was hosted by Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany Heiko Maas. The purpose of the Centre of Excellence is to help find solutions to international conflicts through civilian means.

Just and fair laws are not alone enough to guarantee the realisation of human rights. It is also imperative that there are informed and active citizens who demand their rights. The example of the Kenyan Owino Uhuru slums demonstrates the importance of grassroots development cooperation in building a functioning civil society.

The Foreign Ministry’s Development Academy for journalists in 2020 is held in September–October. This year’s course is attended by eight journalists, selected based on applications.

Finnish Customs participated in a two-year Twinning project aimed at creating better customs administration in Georgia. For Finland, this was the first project conducted under the 2017 Twinning Manual. “For our specialists, the Twinning project provided an opportunity to build their expertise while gaining valuable experience of international cooperation,” says Arto Lillman, Chief Legal Councellor at Finnish Customs, who acted as the Resident Twinning Adviser in Tbilisi.

On 17 September 2020, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend a meeting of the Nordic Foreign Ministers via video conference.

The 2020 Afghanistan Conference scheduled for 23-24 November 2020 in Geneva is a milestone event in Afghanistan’s journey to peace, prosperity and self-reliance.

According to Senior Adviser on Development Policy Johanna Jokinen-Gavidia, democratic systems do not hold together by themselves. Talking about the promotion of democracy is not enough. Three questions about development cooperation is a series of interviews with specialists from the Department for Development Policy.

On 11 September, the Government adopted a decision on restrictions on border traffic, which will enter into force on 19 September. Restrictions on entry will be lifted for traffic between Finland and Cyprus, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Poland and Sweden, as well as for residents of Australia, Canada and Japan who are travelling from their home country to Finland. Restrictions on entry into the country will be reintroduced between Finland and Hungary and Italy.

At its session on Thursday 10 September, the Government appointed a new Deputy Director General for the Department for Africa and the Middle East.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Thomas Blomqvist will attend a meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on Thursday 10 September 2020. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the meeting will be held as a video conference.