Benin's Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari to visit Finland
Benin's Minister of Foreign Affairs Olushegun Adjadi Bakari will visit Helsinki on 4–5 November and meet with Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen.
The foreign ministers will discuss bilateral relations between the countries, the security situation in Europe, the security situation in West Africa and the Sahel region, and cooperation on multilateral issues.
“African countries play a significant role in international politics, and their commercial and economic importance is growing. It is important to engage in dialogue with countries like Benin and to look for opportunities to work together. For example, Finnish companies can provide a wide range of services, products and innovations that could be useful in promoting digitalisation and the green transition in these countries,” Minister Valtonen said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bakari will also visit Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Heritage Agency's Collections and Conservation Centre. The visit will involve discussions of museum and cultural heritage issues as well as ongoing talks about the return to Benin of a Beninese ceremonial stool that is in the collection of the National Museum of Finland.
(Attachement added on 6th November)
Inquiries
- Laila Clyne, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 350 492
- Anna Rautvuori, Team Leader, Unit for Northern and Western Africa, +358 295 350 157
- The email addresses of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are in the format firstname.lastname@gov.fi