Press releases

The Finnish Government proposes EUR 1.3 billion in appropriations for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Foreign Ministry will continue to support Ukraine in 2024, as outlined in the Government programme.

The Finnish Chef Association has published Finnish food recipes (‘Suomiruoka-reseptiikka’) to promote Finland’s country branding and food exports. The recipes will serve Finnish embassies and missions around the world and those organising international meetings and events in Finland. When ready, the material will be freely available to everyone. The material was produced under an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Finland will implement the European Commission’s guidance (FAQ) on prohibiting the import of vehicles registered in Russia.

The high-level meetings of the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) will start in New York on Monday 18 September. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with their counterparts and with representatives of the UN. Minister Tavio’s programme will also include meetings to promote Finland’s commercial and economic interests in the New York metropolitan area.

Minister of Education Anna-Maja Henriksson will attend a virtual meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on 13 September. Henriksson is the minister responsible for Nordic cooperation in the current Finnish Government.

The main topics on the meeting agenda will be the World Bank reform process and support to Ukraine. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will represent Finland at the meeting.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 54th session from 11 September to 13 October in Geneva, Switzerland.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will host Bulgaria’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mariya Gabriel in Finland.

The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) will close its office in Helsinki by the end of 2023. The Social Impact Investing Initiative, managed by UNOPS, was discontinued already at the start of the year due to a corruption case.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend a meeting of Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers (NB8), to be held in Latvia 6–7 September.

The Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed an internal working group to prepare a reform of the Foreign Service in accordance with the Government Programme. The term of the working group will last from 4 September to December, when the group will submit its final report and recommendations to the ministers of the Foreign Ministry.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend the informal meeting of EU development ministers in Cádiz in Spain in 4–5 September.

Tuomas Tähti has been appointed as the second Special Adviser to Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio. He serves as the Minister’s Special Adviser in development policy.

Some of the prices of services provided by the Finnish missions and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will rise. The new prices will enter into force on 1 September 2023.

On 6 July 2023, Russia announced the closure of Finland’s Consulate General in St Petersburg as of 1 October 2023. Consequently, the customer service at the Consulate General will close on 1 September 2023.

EU foreign affairs ministers will meet at the Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich) in Toledo in Spain on 30–31 August. State Secretary Lauri Tierala will represent Finland at the meeting.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs proposes an increase to some of the prices of services provided by Finland’s missions abroad and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The new prices would enter into force on 1 September 2023.

In a decision published on 25 August 2023, the European Committee of Social Rights concluded that the right of persons with disabilities to protection of health, social integration and participa-tion in the life of the community as laid down in the revised European Social Charter, as well as the prohibition of discrimination, were not violated in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020.

In honour of Ukrainian Independence Day on Thursday 24 August, the Government will fly the Ukrainian flag at Senate Square and at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ main building Merikasarmi, which will also be illuminated in blue and yellow in the evening.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend a virtual Nordic foreign ministers’ meeting in N5 format on 23 August.

Heads of Finland’s missions abroad and foreign policy leaders will meet again at the Annual Meeting of Heads of Mission in Helsinki on 21–23 August.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit Oslo in Norway and Copenhagen in Denmark on 11 August. The Minister visits the two countries for the first time.

The European Union has imposed new sanctions on Belarus in response to the deteriorating internal situation in Belarus and to the country’s involvement in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU Member States approved further sanctions against Belarus on 3 August 2023.

On 6 July 2023, Russia announced the closure of Finland’s Consulate General in St Petersburg as of 1 October 2023. Consequently, the customer service at the Consulate General will close as of 1 September 2023.

On 28 July Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio assigned the task of drawing up a plan concerning Finland’s participation in the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The EU adopted a new regime of sanctions, prohibiting the export from the European Union to Iran of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their components. The new regime complements the previously adopted EU sanctions against Russia and Iran.

The first stocktaking meeting of the UN Food Systems Summit held two years ago takes place in Rome on 24–26 July. Finland highlights its experiences as a frontrunner in providing school meals.

United States President Joseph Biden’s visit to Helsinki attracted a great deal of attention in the international media. The visit was mentioned in nearly 18,000 online media articles between 1 and 17 July 2023. Although a significant number of the articles focused on President Biden, Finland also got its share of the visibility.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 20 July. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting. The ministers will also have an informal exchange of views with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken via videoconference.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen has appointed Elisa Tarkiainen and Eemil Nuuttila to serve as her special advisers.

In their joint statement of 12 July 2023, the Nordic countries express their readiness to support Ukraine and its security in the long term, building on the security commitments made to Ukraine by the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States). 

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio has invited Janna Rantanen to serve as his Special Adviser. Another special adviser to the Minister will be appointed in the autumn.

The UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) will be held in New York on 10–19 July 2023. The Forum will discuss the acceleration of recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.

Finland will continue to impose restrictions on the travel by citizens of the Russian Federation on the basis of a government resolution issued on 6 July 2023. Non-essential travel by Russian citizens to Finland and through Finland to the rest of the Schengen area will continue to be restricted for the time being. At the same time, restrictions will be tightened for business travellers, property owners and students.

On 6 July 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation notified Ambassador of Finland Antti Helanterä of forthcoming expulsions. Russia also announced that it would cancel the authorisation of Finland's Consulate General in St Petersburg as of 1 October.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has convened a high-level tripartite meeting between Finland, Sweden and Türkiye to be held in Brussels on 6 July 2023.

Finland will assume the presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) on 1 July 2023 for one year.

The European Union introduces significant new instruments in its eleventh package of restrictive measures against Russia to prevent circumvention and evasion of sanctions, particularly through third countries. These instruments include several facilities for targeting sanctions against parties that circumvent sanctions and assist in such circumvention. Export bans, bans on transit through Russia and individual sanctions lists are expanded.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on 26 June. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will make her first visit to Sweden on Wednesday 21 June and Estonia on Thursday 22 June.

The UN Human Rights Council convenes for its 53rd Regular Session from 19 June to 14 July in Geneva, Switzerland.

The fourth meeting of the Permanent Joint Mechanism between Finland, Sweden and Türkiye took place in Ankara on 14 June. It was held between senior officials from Finland, Sweden, Türkiye and the NATO Secretariat.

A recent survey shows that 85 per cent of Finns believe that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine increases the need for development cooperation and humanitarian aid. However, attitudes towards development cooperation are dividing Finns.

Finland is supporting UN sustainable development goals by channelling aid to demonstrably effective UN agencies. This support for UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women and UNDP promotes Finland’s foreign policy goals and values, such as enhancing the rights and equality of women and girls, and people with disabilities.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Nordic foreign ministers’ meeting, N5, in Iceland from 12 to 13 June.

The Government plenary session issued a decree on the Agreement on the Status of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, National Representatives and International Staff, also known as the Ottawa Agreement on 8 June.

The OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) will take place from 7 to 8 June 2023 in Paris. The theme of this year’s meeting is securing a resilient future. The ministers will also discuss the reconstruction of Ukraine.

On 2 June, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child issued recommendations to Finland based on Finland's combined fifth and sixth periodic reports on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a Joint Statement on Cooperation in Advanced Wireless Communications between Finland and the United States in Helsinki on 2 June. In the Joint Statement, Finland and the United States confirm their common ambition to cooperate in key areas of 6G research and development and to increase interaction between Finnish and US actors.

An informal meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs will be held in Oslo from 31 May to 1 June. This will be the second meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs which Finland attends as a member of the Alliance.