Current Affairs

Strengthening of civil societies is an important goal in Finland’s development policy and a means to achieve other development policy goals.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Family Federation of Finland and the Disability Partnership Finland will organise a discussion event on the sexual and reproductive health and rights of persons with disabilities at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 17 November.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto has convened an international conference to discuss gender equality promotion and feminist foreign policy. The conference will take place at the House of the Estates in Helsinki on 16 November. The conference aims to share best practices on the content and means of foreign policy that promotes gender equality. Another aim is to encourage more discussion about feminist foreign policy in Finland. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto commissioned a review on how Finland’s foreign policy has succeeded in promoting gender equality.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Finland Mr Ville Skinnari will lead a trade mission to South Africa and Namibia from 14 to 18 November. The programme of the visit includes meetings with representatives of South African and Namibian governments, central banks and businesses.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 14 November. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will organise an induction course into development policy and development cooperation for journalists (Development Academy) in January 2023. A field visit to Kenya is included in the course. In addition, one or two journalists will have the opportunity to visit Somalia. The call for application is open from 11 to 30 November 2022.

Opening statement by Minister Pekka Haavisto at the Fourth Universal Periodic Review of Finland at the UN Human Rights Council on 9 November 2022.

The Government endorsed a report on Nordic cross-border barriers in its plenary session on 10 November. The report presents Finnish efforts to remove and prevent cross-border barriers during the government term and highlights barriers, which the Finnish authorities have been working to remove. In addition, the report gives general information about the removal of cross-border barriers by, for example, listing key bodies and their roles.

Mozambique has natural resources, a climate favourable for agriculture and an excellent location. The future of the country largely depends on whether it can give its young population quality education and jobs that pay a living wage, according to Finland’s Ambassador to Mozambique Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen.

Most of the people who need humanitarian assistance are living amid crises that have gone on for years. Altogether 325 million people in 69 countries need assistance. Finland is granting EUR 13.6 million in humanitarian assistance to help especially the most vulnerable people.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has launched a project to reform the legislation governing the export control of dual-use items. The purpose is to enact national legislation that complements the EU’s new Export Control Regulation and to bring the current legislation up to date in other respects, too.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is financing ‘Coach’, a World Bank initiative to improve teacher development programmes. Coach experts visited Finland from 7 to 8 November 2022.

Recent crises underline the importance of development cooperation as a key instrument of foreign and security policy, according to Finland’s Development Policy Results Report submitted to Parliament on 9 November.

Finland will support the grain shipments of the World Food Programme (WFP) from Ukraine to Somalia. At the same time, Finland will increase its humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa, where more than 20 million people are in need of urgent food aid.

Finland’s human rights record will be examined in the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 9 November. The review gives UN Member States the opportunity to ask Finland questions about our human rights record and give Finland recommendations. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will head Finland’s interministerial delegation.

A call for applications for discretionary government grants for Europe information is now open to civil society organisations. The goal of the grants is to increase awareness about the EU. The call for applications will be open from 4 November to 2 December 2022.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) has opened a call for proposals for international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). The thematic focus areas of the Call are sexual and reproductive health and rights, tax justice and transparency as well as food security for children and youth. The application round will close on 30 November 2022.

A draft government proposal on the adoption of the North Atlantic Treaty was sent out for comments on 3 November 2022. Follow the live webcast of the press conference at 2:15 pm (EET).

According to Ambassador of Finland to Nairobi Pirkka Tapiola, Kenya is leading the way for economic and regional development in Eastern Africa. Kenya is now on the brink of new beginnings after presidential elections that were exceptionally peaceful.

The European Commission and the Czech Republic, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, will hold the Annual Export Control Forum in Brussels on 6 December 2022.