Press Releases - Ministry for Foreign Affairs

The World Humanitarian Day will be held next Sunday, 19 August. This year, special attention will be called to the difficult situation of civilians affected by acute conflicts in, for example Syria, Yemen, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Finland’s competence in the education sector is of the highest standard around the world. This should also be more strongly reflected in the priorities and funding of development cooperation, a new report suggests.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini and UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt will meet on Tuesday 14 August.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ 2019 budget proposal for its administrative branch totals EUR 1,131 million.

Finland was mainly viewed in a positive or neutral light in international online articles and social media discussions. A recent media analysis shows that Helsinki succeeded well in seizing the opportunity to bask in the spotlight of the international media.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will organise a thisisFINLAND Foreign Correspondents' Programme (FCP) from 6 to 24 August 2018. During the three weeks, 16 young foreign correspondents and media professionals will have an opportunity to learn about Finland and the Finnish society.

Protocol No. 16 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms on a system of advisory opinions entered into force on 1 August 2018.

The 24/7 consular services provided by the Consular Service Centre of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be handled by the Emergency Response Centre Agency for a fixed period of two years starting on 1 August 2018.

Today is the 20th anniversary of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Currently, 123 states are parties to the Statute.

As is traditional, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is participating in SuomiAreena, the most important open-air forum for social dialogue of Finland’s summer, held in Pori, on Thursday, 19 July.

Nearly 90 per cent of Finns find development cooperation to be important. Citizens feel that education, in particular, is an area where Finland has a lot to give. The responses were elicited in an opinion poll carried out by Taloustutkimus on behalf of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The meeting of the US and Russian Presidents in Helsinki puts Finland in the spotlight of international media attention. The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs together with the City of Helsinki will take advantage of this opportunity for its country branding. We will make sure that all services run smoothly and that our international media guests can have a unique experience.

A total of 1,436 journalists have accredited to the meeting of the US and Russian Presidents in Helsinki on Monday 16 July 2018. Altogether 61 countries submitted accreditation applications.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Marko Ruonala to serve as Press Counsellor at the Permanent Representation of Finland to the European Union. His three-year term will start on 1 September.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Ms Tanja Huutonen to the post of Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Berlin. The three-year term will start on 1 September 2018.

The UN High-level Political Forum (HLPF) will convene in New York from 9 to 18 July 2018. The annual forum reviews progress in attaining the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) (2030 Agenda) that were adopted in 2015. Finland’s focus will be on sustainable development of the Arctic region.

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Helsinki on Monday 16 July 2018. The meeting will be hosted by President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will visit Baku, Azerbaijan, on 5 July 2018.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will meet in Luxembourg on 25 June.

Lemi, a municipality with some 3000 inhabitants in rural Southeast Finland, came out as the winner in the month-long Capital of Metal competition for the world capital of heavy metal music. The Capital of Metal title is awarded to the city with the most metal bands per capita. After a tight contest with the Finnish city of Joensuu, Lemi finally won the title with a clear score.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Anne Berner will attend a meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation in Lund on 20 June 2018.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Romania on 13 June. He will have meetings with Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Teodor Melescanu, President Klaus Iohannis, and Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă.

100-year-old Ministry for Foreign Affairs will participate in the Alandica Debatt summer event, held on 13 and 14 June in Mariehamn, Åland

The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, will visit Helsinki on Monday 18 June and have a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres will arrive in Finland to host a meeting of a High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation in Helsinki on Monday 18 June.

One of the most important processes of the United Nations General Assembly this spring is the assessment of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. In cooperation with Jordan, Finland co-leads the strategic assessment, which gives a visible role to Finland.

The Ministries for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Mexico, in cooperation with the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), will host the 8th Annual Meeting of the Global Network of responsibility to protect in Helsinki, Finland between 12 and 14 June 2018.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Tallinn on 8 June in order to have a meeting with Estonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser.

Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Natalia Kanem will visit Finland from 13 to 15 June 2018.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will host the executive meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT) network that will take place in Helsinki on 11 to 12 June 2018.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will attend the African-Nordic Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Copenhagen on 6–7 June. In addition to the Nordic countries, the meeting is expected to gather representatives from about twenty African countries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Futures Review Finland acts in a changing world has been published on 4 June. The key message of the review is that Finland is not a bystander, but rather an active influencer in international development.

Tasavallan presidentti ja valtioneuvoston ulko- ja turvallisuuspoliittinen ministerivaliokunta käsittelivät perjantaina 1. kesäkuuta Suomen osallistumista eräisiin kansainvälisiin kriisinhallintaoperaatioihin.

At the presidential session on Friday 1 June, the President of the Republic decided to appoint Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Jyrki Pulkkinen to serve as Finland's Ambassador to Abuja, Nigeria, from 1 September 2018.

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has placed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU. The tariffs on imports will enter into force on 1 June 2018. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Workneh Gebeyehu, will visit Finland on 5 June 2018. 

What is the “relationship status” between “rules-loving” Finland and the “bureaucratic” EU? This will be put to test in a chatfiction series, planned and carried out by students of Turku University of Applied Sciences. In the series, Finland and other countries land on an island of temptations, where the Finland-EU relationship is tested. The humorous series was created as part of a communications course organised by Turku University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with Europe Information.

The OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) will be held in Paris on 30–31 May 2018. Finland's representatives at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen and Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will meet in Brussels on 28 May. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The topics on the agenda will include Iran, Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ACP-EU Partnership after 2020 (Post-Cotonou), and the situation in Gaza.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Germany, Heiko Maas, will visit Finland on Friday 25 May.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will celebrate its 100th anniversary on Friday 25 May 2018 at Finlandia Hall.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will host a meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Finland, Germany, Sweden and Denmark in Helsinki on 25 May.

Finland has been sharing its public sector expertise with the EU’s neighbouring regions for 20 years now. The Twinning instrument, a tool for supporting good governance, has provided support, for example, to the eastern European countries which became EU Member States in 2004 and 2007. At the moment, there are ongoing Twinning projects in the Western Balkans, Turkey and the EU’s eastern and southern neighbouring countries.

The EU’s Foreign Affairs Council will meet on 22 May in Brussels with EU trade ministers playing a key role. In Brussels, Finland will be represented by Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council, led by member-state development ministers, will convene in Brussels on 22 May. Finland will be represented by Anne-Mari Virolainen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will attend the Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe at Elsinore, Denmark, on 17–18 May 2018.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will meet Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation and Climate and Deputy Prime Minister Isabella Lövin and Minister for EU Affairs and Trade Ann Linde in Stockholm on Thursday 17 May.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. In honour of the centenary celebrations, Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will end his tour of Finnish schools by attending an event organised at The English School in Pitäjänmäki, Helsinki, on Monday 21 May.

Finland is greatly concerned about the extensive use of force and the loss of lives at the Gaza border demonstrations.

100-year-old Ministry for Foreign Affairs with its partners will organise a Crisis Management Now event on 17 May from 10.00 to 17.30 in Kellohalli at the Abattoir complex in Kalasatama.