Current Affairs

The number of people in need of assistance has more than doubled in a few years. Finland has responded to this need both financially and by improving the methods of delivering assistance.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu in Helsinki on 17 August. Follow the live webcast of the press conference at 13.10.

The government plenary session appointed several persons to new positions at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki.

On 4 August, the government session and the presidential session appointed several persons to new positions in Helsinki and Finland’s missions abroad.

Member of the Parliament of Finland Suldaan Said Ahmed visited the Horn of Africa on 14-27 July. During his trip, Special Representative Said Ahmed visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, including Mogadishu, as well as Hargeisa in Somaliland.

On Friday 8 July, the President of the Republic appointed Anu Vuori-Kiikeri to serve as Head of Mission at Finland’s Consulate General in Shanghai.

The NATO member countries signed the Accession Protocols concerning Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership at NATO Headquarters in Brussels on 5 February, making Finland and Sweden invitees of the Alliance. The Accession Protocols must next be ratified in each member country for Finland and Sweden to become members.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau in Helsinki on 1 July. Follow the live webcast of the press conference at 13.40.

The document is a political commitment, signed by the foreign ministers of Finland, Sweden and Türkiye. The memorandum confirms Türkiye’s support for Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership and enables progress in both countries’ NATO membership process.

The UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will meet in New York between 5 and 15 July.

The Unit for Sustainable Trade was established at the Department for International Trade last autumn. The Unit promotes discussion about themes linked to sustainable development in trade agreements and multilateral organisations.

Restrictions on entry at Finland’s external borders imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic will be lifted on 1 July 2022. Third-country travellers arriving in Finland will no longer be required to hold vaccination or COVID-19 test certificates, and COVID-19 tests will not be carried out at border crossing points.

On Wednesday 22 June, the Government appointed a new Deputy Director General. At the presidential session on Wednesday 22 June, the President of the Republic decided to appoint two new Ambassadors.

On 13 July, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will organise a discussion where representatives of international trade and different companies will look into future prospects of export trade, which are overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and rivalry between the great powers.

On Friday 10 July, the President of the Republic granted a new authorisation to represent Finland abroad.

On 18 May, representatives of civil society organisations met with Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto to discuss Finland’s objectives and priorities at the 50th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will convene in Geneva on 13 June–8 July 2022. Nearly 40 CSOs had sent their representatives to the consultation event organised at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The event was chaired by Ambassador for Human Rights and Democracy Rauno Merisaari.

Sustainable development, contacts between people, transport and logistics will remain as other priorities.

The European Commission offers technical support for Member States for the promotion of sustainable economic growth, competitiveness and employment as well as for the implementation of national recovery and resilience plans (RRPs). The national deadline for submitting requests for technical support under the Technical Support Instrument (TSI) for 2023 will be open until 24 October 2022.

Finland has opened its first Embassy in French-speaking West Africa. Ambassador Anu Saxén and Administrative Official Maija-Liisa Vähäkuopus from the Embassy discuss the reasons behind the decision to establish a mission in Dakar.

In the Foreign Service, this policy is related to support for financing sustainable development through trade policy, development policy and development cooperation.