Foreign Ministry to trim Finland’s network of diplomatic missions

Press release 305/2011
9 November 2011

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is seeking to achieve the savings required by the central government decisions on spending limits and continues to reduce its network of diplomatic missions. The decisions to close down embassies in Caracas and Manila will be followed by closing down the embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. The service point in Islamabad will be closed during 2012.

The Ministry will assess the financing options for the diplomatic missions in the light of Parliament’s debate on the budget for 2012 and the Government’s decision on spending limits, to be made next spring. If the Ministry is not granted the annual supplementary appropriation it has requested, more service points abroad will have to be closed during the budget planning period of 2012–2015.

Additional information: Under-Secretary of State Peter Stenlund, tel. +358 9 1605 5020, and Adviser to the Under-Secretary of State Sandra Hatzidakis, tel. +358 9 1605 6039