The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will meet in Brussels on 19 November. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The topics on the meeting agenda will be Ukraine, Central Asia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At lunch, foreign ministers will discuss the situation in Yemen. The meeting will close with a joint session of foreign and defence ministers, whose topic of discussion will be security and defence.

Finnish authorities are continuing to investigate the GPS signal disruption that occurred during Nato’s Trident Juncture military drills. Finland considers Norway’s findings on the signal disruption to be reliable. It is not appropriate to release details on the matter to the public.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will meet US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo in Washington DC on Thursday 15 November.

Georgia's Minister of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani will visit Finland on 11–12 November and meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

Finland will take part in HEX-ML 18 (PACE), the European Union's joint exercise to improve its decision- making, which will be held from 5 to 23 November 2018.

Finland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe will start on 21 November 2018. Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland will visit Finland on 8 November.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will make a Team Finland visit to Shanghai and Beijing on 4-9 November. She will be accompanied by a business delegation.

On 5 November, Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Mariehamn to meet leaders of the region and to visit some schools.

Finland's first Development Policy Results Report 2018, submitted to Parliament today, shows that significant positive results have been achieved in the developing countries through support from Finland and its partner countries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will illuminate the seaside façade of Merikasarmi, its main building, on 27–28 October to mark the 100th anniversaries of the independence of the Czech and Slovak Republics.

The meeting of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Economic Commission will be arranged in St. Petersburg on Tuesday 30 October 2018. The Chairman of the Finnish delegation will be Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen. The Chairman of the Russian delegation will be Deputy Prime Minister Dmitri Kozak.

The Helsinki Book Fair will be held at the Expo and Convention Centre, Messukeskus Helsinki, from 25 to 28 October 2018. At the Foreign Ministry's stand 6e1, Europe Information will offer information about topical EU questions, such as Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union next year.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen decided to commission an independent study to look at the handling of cases of harassment at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

IFC, the corporate financing branch of the World Bank, has recently invested Finnish money in a project package that aims at vastly increasing the wind power capacity in Africa. In addition, Finland and IFC will enter more in-depth cooperation by providing new support to develop innovative energy projects in the poorest countries.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will participate in the Annual Meeting of the World Bank Group and the meeting of the joint Development Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bali, Indonesia on 11–13 October.

Ms Anne-Mari Virolainen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, will visit Jakarta in Indonesia with a Team Finland trade delegation on 8–11 October.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Iceland on 7–9 October 2018.

An informal meeting of EU ministers responsible for trade will be held in Innsbruck on 4–5 October 2018. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will visit Rome on 3–4 October. During the visit, Virolainen will meet representatives of the Government of Italy and have meetings at UN organisations.

According to the Government’s ownership steering policy, the investment portfolio of the State’s development financing company Finnfund must invest in the poorest countries in particular, as well as in high-risk projects that have significant development impacts. In line with this policy, the Government has decided to reintroduce the special risk financing instrument worth EUR 75 million.

During the high-level week Minister Soini will stress the need for further development of peace mediation and peace operations. In particular, Finland wishes to strengthen the role of women and the young in peace processes. On Minister Virolainen’s agenda the focus is on sustainable development, climate change and equality.

There is a desperate shortage of decent jobs in developing countries. Finn Church Aid's (FCA) investment company responds to this need by introducing a new tool to Finland’s development policy.

Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Helena Tuuri has been appointed Finland's new Baltic Sea Ambassador. The Baltic Sea Ambassador's duties include maintenance of broad contacts and networking with diverse stakeholders

Executive Director David Beasley will visit Finland on 18–19 September. A major part of Finland's humanitarian assistance is channelled to crisis areas through the World Food Programme (WFP).

Olgoministtar Soini galleda Anáris vuossárgga čakčamánu 17. beaivve ja oassálastá doppe ordnejuvvon árktalaš parlamentarihkkárkonferensii ja galleda Avvila logahagas.

On Monday 17 September, Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Inari, where he will participate in the 13th Arctic Parliamentary Conference. From there he will continue his tour of Finnish schools and visit Ivalo Upper Secondary School.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini has appointed former MP Christina Gestrin (MSc in Agriculture and Forestry, EMBA) to serve as the Minister's Special Representative for Baltic Sea Cooperation. Gerstrin will focus on promoting cooperation in the Baltic Sea region, with special emphasis on the environment.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Anne Berner will participate in a meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on 6 September 2018.

On 3 September 2018, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini appointed Ambassador Sofie From-Emmesberger to serve as new Chair of the EU’s Political and Security Committee (PSC).

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will lead a Team Finland visit to Denmark on 4–5 September.

Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will visit Finland on 6–7 September and meet Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

Simon Coveney, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste), will visit Finland and meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini in Helsinki on Tuesday 4 September 2018.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Croatia on Monday 3 September. He will have meetings with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

In the government budget session, decisions were made on additional funding for the Foreign Ministry' network of missions, regional cooperation, and export promotion. The Ministry’s operating expenses total EUR 224.8 million.

An informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich) will be held in Vienna on 30–31 August. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

The Europe Forum Turku will gather Finnish opinion-makers and citizens to discuss Finland's role in Europe and in the European Union. A discussion event, organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), will take place on Friday 31 August.

According to an independent evaluation conducted for the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland’s development policy has been successful in promoting good practices to enhance the rights of women and girls. However, in addition to political commitment, a more clearly defined gender equality strategy would be required.

The Netherlands' Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephanus Blok will visit Finland and have bilateral discussions with Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini on Tuesday 28 August.

The Heads of Finnish Missions abroad will convene for their annual meeting in Helsinki on 27–31 August.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Don Pramudwinai, will visit Helsinki on Thursday 23 August and meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

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.