Current Affairs

In Finland’s first county elections, a total of 2,923 persons voted in advance at Finland’s missions abroad. The number of advance voters abroad was approximately eight per cent higher than in the 2021 municipal elections.

There is great demand for Finnish expertise in the field of the rule of law around the world. The Rule of Law Centre, established jointly by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the University of Helsinki, supports the implementation of democracy, the rule of law and human rights in developing countries.

At the presidential session on Friday 14 January, the President of the Republic appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Pekka Voutilainen to serve as Head of the Embassy of Finland in Qatar.

EU foreign affairs ministers will meet at an Informal Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Gymnich) on 13–14 January in Brest, France. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has launched an intersectoral Virtual Finland project to promote Finland’s digital competitiveness.

The Department for Communications of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is carrying out projects that encourage young people in Iraq and Afghanistan to promote peace and reconciliation. Hundreds of young people express their interest in participating in peace work through the projects annually. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs launched the Support Afghanistan Livelihoods and Mobility project called Salam in 2019 and commissioned Måndag to implement the project.

According to the Government Report on Human Rights Policy, Finland emphasises the rights of the Roma in its European human rights activities. Finland has long been a high-profile political and financial supporter of Roma activities in European intergovernmental organisations.

In his blog post, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto commemorates the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Finland’s support will be targeted at providing assistance to victims of sexual and gender-based violence in Uganda, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and at implementing reparations awarded to former child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as ordered by the International Criminal Court.

The Government decided to reintroduce internal border control at Finland’s borders starting on Tuesday 28 December. The Government decided on the new restrictions at its session on 28 December. The decision will remain in force until 16 January 2022.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has prepared a draft government proposal for amending the Aliens Act, which has now been sent out for comments. The comments are to be submitted by 18 January 2022.

Finland will strengthen its role in the fight against climate change through an investment in a new partnership launched by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The funding will be targeted at climate action in North Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected tourism in many ways, and even experienced travellers may encounter unexpected situations. We recommend that you plan and find out about matters in advance to make sure that your journey proceeds as planned. The Consular Services of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs approaches travellers in a letter with a number of tips on how to cope in various situations.

A tragic accident in Abdirizak Warsame Ahmed’s childhood caused him to lose both of his hands. Instead of being discouraged, he turned the accident into a resource. The boy with no hands grew up to be a man who now lives in Mogadishu and travels around Somalia spreading the message of hope and peace. Ahmed is a participant in the Foreign Ministry’s pro-peace communication project.

In 2021, Finland chaired the Nordic (N5) cooperation on foreign and security policy and the Nordic-Baltic (NB8) cooperation. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will host the last meetings of the two presidencies as virtual meetings on 20 December (N5) and 21 December (NB8).

In line with the Government decision of 16 December, the restrictions on entry at Finland’s external borders will continue and health security measures will be tightened as of 20 December. The decision will remain in force until 16 January 2022

Finland will donate the second batch of COVID-19 vaccine doses through Team Europe. These vaccines were purchased in advance and they would remain unused in Finland. The vaccine donations will not slow down the rollout of vaccinations in Finland. Finland’s donation of COVID-19 doses and support for vaccine alliance Gavi will increase global vaccine coverage and prevent the rise of new variants.

In 2021, Finland’s funding to UN Women core resources will be EUR 19 million. Last year, Finland was the largest of UN Women’s core resource partners.

Finland will contribute EUR 125 million to the replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), which is part of the World Bank Group. The replenishment process was brought forward to help the world’s poorest countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.