Current Affairs

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will host the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in Porvoo on 13–14 June. Watch the webcast of the press conference on 14 June at approximately 13.15.

Despite the increasing instability of the global operating environment, good results have been achieved within the framework of Finland's bilateral country programmes. The recent report summarizes the results of an analysis that looked at Finland's ten country programmes in 2021-2024.

The export authorisation application form has been updated as of 13 June 2024. The change will support the overall assessment of applications.

The Kauppapolitiikka magazine for international trade, which is published by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and goes back over 90 years, has launched active online presence. The new website was published in early June with a fresh new look. The magazine’s newsletter and the visual appearance of the social media channels were also updated.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia Baiba Braže in Helsinki on 13 June. Braže was appointed as Foreign Minister in April.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, in Helsinki on 13 June.

A recent survey also found that 62 per cent of Finns continue to believe that development cooperation is very or quite important. As in previous years, opinions were divided between those who took a more positive approach to development cooperation and those who held a more negative view.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania Igli Hasani in Helsinki on 12 June.

Finland and South Africa will jointly implement a mentoring programme for young peace mediators. The programme was announced by the Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and Director-General Zane Dangor of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation at the National Dialogues Conference in Helsinki on 11 June.

In line with the Government Programme, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio has decided to allocate more funds for improving opportunities for Finnish organisations to acquire international funding. Under the reform, the application round for communications and global education projects will not be opened during this government term. The application round for UN-based organisations opens in autumn 2024, and grants can be applied for the period 2025–2027.

The Sixth National Dialogues Conference will take place on 11–13 June. The Conference invites participants to consider the role of national dialogues and non-formal dialogue processes in enhancing resilience, preventing and resolving conflict, and maintaining peace in challenging conditions. Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen will open the Conference and participate in the opening panel discussion on Youth and Peacebuilding.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will host the Foreign Ministers’ meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) in Porvoo on 13–14 June.

What should we do to tackle the crises related to climate change, biodiversity and pollution on the global scale? This was the main theme of a course on environmental law-making and diplomacy for an international group of students. The course was organised with support from the Finnish Government.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will visit Ethiopia and Kenya on 10–14 June.

A total of 15,071 persons visited the Finnish diplomatic and consular missions abroad to vote in advance in the elections to the European Parliament. Altogether 150 crew members voted on board Finnish vessels. In the 2019 European elections, 16,547 persons voted abroad at the Finnish missions and on board vessels.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will visit Oslo on 5 June and meet Cecilie Myrseth, Norway's Minister of Trade and Industry, Bård Vegar Solhjell, Director General of the Norwegian agency for development cooperation Norad, and business representatives.

A request for comments on the decree aimed at preparing a new government decree on an advisory board on export control has been published in the online consultation service Lausuntopalvelu.fi.

The revamped This is FINLAND Magazine has now been published in English. Its diverse range of content covers topics from Finnish fashion to the world of video games and from happiness to sauna architecture.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has published an online course Business and Human Rights, which is open to everyone.

The Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages has called on the Finnish authorities to further strengthen education of Inari Sami, North Sami and Skolt Sami and ensure their effective use in social and health care services. The committee also recommends that the authorities increase awareness and tolerance in the society as a whole vis-à-vis the regional or minority languages and the cultures they represent.