Current Affairs

The COVID-19 pandemic remains a major global risk to travel safety, and the situation may deteriorate quickly and unpredictably in any country or region. Travellers may find that access to healthcare is limited or face quarantine orders or restrictions on movement outdoors.

Core funding to international humanitarian organisations is a rapid and effective way to respond to sudden-onset natural disasters and protracted crises. Finland’s 27.5-million-euro funding will help UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross ICRC to operate in areas where people need help, and to plan their operations flexibly.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 24 January. The main items on the agenda are the security situation in Eastern Europe and the latest developments in Libya and Syria. The ministers will also discuss the EU Strategy for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific and the situation in Mali, Sudan and Kazakhstan. Later the same day, Foreign Minister Haavisto and Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Ann Linde will meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

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).