Current Affairs

Finland supports developing countries to fight against COVID-19 with more than EUR 80 million from its development cooperation appropriations. The sum includes a EUR 2.5 million core contribution paid to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, last year. International cooperation is instrumental for defeating the pandemic.

At the presidential session on Friday 9 April, the President of the Republic appointed a new Ambassador to Iraq, granted an authorisation to represent Finland in the OSCE and appointed a non-resident Ambassador to the Vatican.

The Finnish Government launched the International Gender Equality Prize in 2017, when Finland celebrated the centenary of its independence. The purpose of the prize is to promote gender equality in global contexts and to promote discussion about equality. The nominations are open until 16 May 2021.

To support people travelling on essential business during the coronavirus pandemic, Finnish missions abroad keep their websites updated on local travel restrictions. Rules and guidance in different countries can change rapidly, which is why the Ministry for Foreign Affairs advises people travelling on business to always check the official website of the country of destination, to consider whether the trip is essential, and to act responsibly.

On 31 March 2021, the Government proposed new legislation to improve the legal status and earnings opportunities of foreign berry pickers and to make the competitive environment equal to companies in the sector. As foreign berry pickers have not been deemed to be in an employment relationship but instead to work as entrepreneurs, their status is currently unregulated from a legal point of view.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will open a Visa Application Centre in Minsk for the reception of visa applications for people in Belarus wishing to apply for seasonal work in Finland. Estonia represents Finland in Minsk in other Schengen visa application matters. People who aim to submit a visa application for other than seasonal work purposes should follow the instructions of the Embassy of Estonia.

Due to the military coup on 1 February 2021, the situation in Myanmar is now deeply disturbing. On 29 March 2021, Finland together with the other Nordic countries raised the alert level of its travel advice, urging travellers “to leave the country as soon as possible”.

Ten years ago, millions of Syrians took to the streets of Dara’a, Aleppo and Damascus, calling for democracy and respect of their fundamental rights and basic freedoms. The brutal response by the regime triggered over the span of a decade one of the most serious criminal enterprises and humanitarian crises since the Second World War resulting in more than 400 000 deaths and in countless violations of human rights.

The municipal elections will be held on Sunday 13 June 2021. The Act on the Postponement of the 2021 Municipal Elections entered into force on 29 March 2021. The advance voting period will be from 26 May to 8 June in Finland and from 2 to 5 June abroad.

At the presidential session on Friday 26 March, the President of the Republic appointed three new Ambassadors.

In its first issue in 2021, Kauppapolitiikka magazine focuses on “faces behind exports”.

On 18 March 2021, Finnish Ambassador to Iraq Vesa Häkkinen opened an Honorary Consulate of Finland in Mosul together with Najm Al-Jubouri, Governor of the Nineveh Governorate. The Honorary Consulate of Finland is the first foreign honorary consulate in Mosul.

Nordic Day is celebrated on 23 March in all the Nordic countries and Åland, the Faroe Islands and Greenland in honour of the fundamental treaty of Nordic cooperation, which was named after Helsinki and was signed on 23 March 1962. It defines the duties and composition of the Nordic Council and Nordic Council of Ministers and, in general, the main areas and methods of Nordic cooperation.

The Finnish Government has approved Finland's Africa strategy on 18 March 2021. It will be used to diversify and deepen Finland’s relations with African countries, the African Union (AU) and regional organisations, with focus on political and economic relations.

Former minister and permanent secretary Hannele Pokka, currently Professor of Practice in environmental liability at the University of Helsinki, has been appointed to the Water and Climate Leaders Panel, established by the World Meteorological Organisation.

This year marks the seventh anniversary of the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia. The matter is a serious violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

To date, the costs incurred by Finnish authorities for the repatriation of 20 Finnish children and their mothers from northeast Syria amount to approximately EUR 395,000. The assignment began in 2019.

The first event in the series of live broadcasts entitled Partners in Development, which are organised in collaboration between the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Finnish Development NGOs Fingo and chambers of commerce, focused on energy. The participants agreed that, in developing countries, cooperation with local communities is the key to eradicating energy poverty and to the green transition. The Foreign Ministry's Twitter and Facebook channels gathered together more than a thousand viewers.

The Nordic Council of Ministers (NCM) is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2021. In tribute to this, NCM will organise five debates on Nordic Day, 23 March.

At the presidential session on Friday 12 March, the President of the Republic appointed new Ambassadors and decided on a side accreditation.