Press releases

Today, the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö approved an amendment to the Decree of the President of the Republic on the Foreign Service. The amendment concerning the locations of Finland’s diplomatic missions and the provision of consular services in the Diplomatic Service will enter into force on 10 December 2021. With the amendment, embassies of Finland will be established in Dakar, Senegal, and in Doha, Qatar, as of 10 December 2021.

The UN estimates that 274 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2022. The needs are increasing, for example due to the escalation of conflicts in Afghanistan and Ethiopia. Finland will increase its support for the alleviation of human suffering in crisis areas, which is why Finland will raise its funding for humanitarian assistance to EUR 113 million this year.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has published a website on where, how and when Finland’s development cooperation funds are used. Launching this public site increases the openness and transparency of development cooperation.

The 10th anniversary of the Freedom Online Coalition (FOC) will be celebrated at the end of Finland’s Chairship. On 3 December, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will host a virtual Conference of foreign ministers representing 34 FOC member governments. The Freedom Online Coalition 10th Anniversary Helsinki Declaration for open and accessible internet and human rights-based digitalisation will be launched at the Conference.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which will be held in Stockholm on 1–2 December. Sweden holds the Chairmanship of the OSCE in 2021. The meeting will discuss, among others, conflicts in the OSCE region as well as the situation in Afghanistan and its wider security impacts.

Sima Sami Bahous, appointed as Executive Director of the United Nations gender equality organisation UN Women in September, will visit Finland on 8–9 December.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted EUR 17.82 million to international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) for 2022–2024. Support was granted to 11 international human rights organisations operating in developing countries, whose work focuses on four themes: ending impunity; supporting human rights defenders; strengthening the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights and addressing discriminatory practices; and business and human rights.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation will host a delegation from Kosovo on 1 to 3 December 2021 in Helsinki, Finland. The delegation consists of political decision-makers. During their three-day stay in Helsinki, the delegation has meetings with Finnish and international experts.

On 30 November 2021, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) decided that Finland is to chair the organisation in 2025. The year 2025 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, which was adopted at the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe in 1975.

NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs will meet from 30 November to 1 December 2021 in Riga. Finland and Sweden as NATO partner countries and High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy are invited to participate in the discussion concerning the Western Balkans region, which will be held on 1 December. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will meet Dr Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), on Friday 3 December.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Regional Forum of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in Barcelona on Monday 29 November. A foreign ministerial meeting of the European Union and Southern Neighbourhood will be held on the same day.

Programme-based support for Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs) is allocated for the implementation of Finland’s development policy objectives to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequality and promote human rights. The work is carried out in close cooperation with developing countries’ own CSOs. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted approximately EUR 276 million for Finnish CSO’s multiannual development cooperation in 2022–2025.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has issued a Decree on the Amendment of Fees for Services Produced by the Foreign Service for 2020–2022. The amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2022 and will remain in force until 31 December 2022.

In its session on 25 November 2021, the Government appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara to serve as Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs starting on 1 May 2022.

The social security agreement between Finland and Japan will enter into force on 1 February 2022. Ville Skinnari, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and Takashi Murata, Japan’s Ambassador to Finland, exchanged notes on 25 November to bring the bilateral agreement into force. When the agreement enters into force, workers posted to a Contracting State will avoid double pension and unemployment insurance contributions.

The United Nations has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The day begins an annual international campaign called 16 Days of Activism, which draws attention to this important human rights violation. During the day, well-known buildings around the world will be illuminated in orange – the colour chosen to symbolise the day. This year, the Government will observe the day by illuminating the Merikasarmi building of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

On 25 November, Minister for Nordic Cooperation Thomas Blomqvist will attend a conference in Torshavn on the Faeroe Islands. The conference will discuss the experiences gained from crisis management in the Nordic countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and future Nordic cooperation in crisis preparedness. This is one of the key priorities for Finland’s Presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2021.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Oslo on 22–23 November. Minister Skinnari will meet ministers of Norway’s new Government and visit a waste treatment plant that makes use of carbon capture technologies. The Minister will also attend a seminar organised by the Finnish and Norwegian Shipowners Associations and the Embassy of Finland in Oslo.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting of EU development ministers on 19 November in Brussels.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Thomas Blomqvist will speak in a forum on the state and future of cross-border regional cooperation (Gränsregionalt Forum) in Oulu on 18 November. He will also meet local actors, including representatives of the Bothnian Arc collaboration and the City of Oulu, BusinessOulu and the University of Oulu.

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, will visit Finland on 17–19 November. This is the Governor’s first visit abroad since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will present the priorities of Finland’s Presidency in connection with the Rovaniemi Arctic Spirit conference on 16 November. In Rovaniemi, the Minister will also meet representatives of the Sámi Parliament and speak at the University of Lapland.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will discuss citizens’ opportunities to exert influence in the EU at Lahti main library on 16 November. The aim is to hear people’s thoughts and wishes about the future of Europe. The event is part of Finnish Ministers’ “We are Europe” tour.

EU foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday 15 November. The main topics on the meeting agenda will be the Sahel, the Western Balkans and the Strategic Compass for security and defence cooperation in the EU. Topical issues on the agenda will include Belarus, the geopolitical dimensions of energy prices, Ethiopia, Sudan and the outcome of the COP26 summit. The meeting of foreign ministers on the Eastern Partnership (EaP) will discuss the future priorities of the cooperation and prepare for the Eastern Partnership summit, on 15 December.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will meet Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Paul Gallagher in Helsinki on 12 November.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the EU Arctic Forum in Brussels on 10 November.

Finland and Belgium will co-chair the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) initiative for the next two years. As co-chair, Finland will have a stronger role in improving good humanitarian donorship practices at a time when the need for humanitarian assistance is higher than ever.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will discuss the EU’s global role in the Think Corner in Helsinki on 9 November. The aim is to hear people’s thoughts and wishes about the future of Europe. The event is part of Finnish ministers’ “We are Europe” tour.

The Government of Prime Minister Sanna Marin has made a good start in implementing the development policy entries in the Government Programme. However, there continues to be room for improvement. At present, the main focus should be on preparing a clear roadmap, extending beyond the current government term, in order to raise development finance to the UN’s recommendation of 0.7% of gross national income (GNI). The recommendation should be achieved by 2030.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Brazil from 8 to 12 November 2021. The Minister will have bilateral meetings with, among others, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos França, and Minister of the Institutional Security Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic Augusto Heleno, with whom bilateral discussions have already taken place virtually in December 2020. Minister Skinnari will also meet with representatives of Brazilian industry and will be accompanied by about ten Team Finland representatives aiming to promote Finnish export and internationalisation.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will meet the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs in Helsinki on 9 November.

The first deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines donated by Finland have been mobilised. The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines donated to developing countries arrived in Abidjan, Côte d’ Ivoire, on Thursday 4 November. Based on a joint decision by the EU, vaccines are distributed through COVAX, the global mechanism for equitable access to the vaccines.

Finland has joined the Leaders' Declaration on Forests and Land Use of the Glasgow Climate Change Conference, whereby more than one hundred countries commit to stopping deforestation by 2030. President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö will speak at the publication event of the Declaration on Forests in Glasgow on Tuesday.

On 2 November, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Copenhagen to attend the 73rd Session of the Nordic Council. At the Nordic Council plenary session, he will deliver a speech on Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation. Finland is chairing the Nordic (N5) cooperation on foreign and security policy in 2021.

Claudia Mahler, Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons at the UN Human Rights Council, will visit Finland from 26 October to 4 November. This is the first time that an Independent Expert on the human rights by older persons, mandated in 2014, visits the Nordic countries. The purpose of the visit is to prepare a report on the legislation related to the rights of older people and on the implementation of their rights in Finland for the UN Human Rights Council. The Independent Expert will present her report and recommendations concerning Finland to the Human Rights Council in its autumn session of 2022, where Finland will participate in the interactive dialogue.

According to a recent survey, 68 per cent of Finns consider development cooperation very or fairly important. About a quarter of Finns say that their attitudes have become more negative recently. The majority believe that Finland’s development cooperation has improved the position of women and girls in Afghanistan over the past 20 years. The results are based on a survey carried out for the Foreign Ministry by Taloustutkimus.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Stockholm on 25 October 2021. The Minister will have a meeting with Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Trade Anna Hallberg and, together with representatives of Swedish and Finnish companies and universities, meet representatives of Swedish industry.

On 25–26 October, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Foreign Minister’s meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council in Tromsø. The meeting will end Norway’s Chairmanship, after which the Chairmanship will be handed over to Finland for the next two years.

On 19 October, Administrator of the US Agency for International Development Samantha Power and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari announced their dedication to robust collaboration on efforts to advance economic productivity, gender equality and human rights in developing countries through inclusive digitalisation.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit the United States on 18–21 October.

Finland bears its responsibility as part of the climate finance pledge of the Paris Agreement. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference, Finland will announce support for adaptation measures in developing countries in particular. The COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Glasgow from 31 October to 12 November 2021.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on Monday 18 October. The main items on the agenda will be the EU’s Eastern Partnership, Ethiopia, the Persian Gulf and Nicaragua. Topical issues on the agenda will include Afghanistan, climate diplomacy, Tunisia and the Western Balkans.

The three-year term 2022-2024 is Finland’s first full membership in the Human Rights Council. Finland will continue its long-term work to promote universal human rights.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed a working group to assess the need to amend the Act on the Making of Decisions Concerning the Provision of and Request for International Assistance (418/2017). The working group will prepare the necessary legislative amendments based on the lessons learned from the evacuation operation in Afghanistan.

The Centre of Expertise, newly established under the Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI), will strengthen Finland’s role in resolving the global learning crisis. The Centre will facilitate the deployment of Finnish education sector expertise in development cooperation and support efforts to strengthen equitable and inclusive quality education in developing countries. At the same time, it will also facilitate the engagement of Finnish actors in the education sector in development cooperation assignments.

The 16th meeting of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will be held in Helsinki on 14 October 2021. The Commission is co-chaired by Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari and Russia’s Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov. The meeting will address issues related to business environment in Finland and Russia, potential sectors of cooperation, and current topics of the Commission’s working groups. The ministers will also meet representatives of Finnish and Russian companies.

Did you know that you have collaborated with people living in Nepal, Somalia and Kenya and thus supported girls’ schooling, journalists’ training and job creation? You may be surprised, but that is all right. Development cooperation produces effective results, but we Finns know quite little about them. On 11 October, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will launch a campaign that will clarify the achievements of Finland’s development cooperation.

EU ministers of development will hold an informal video conference to exchange views on Afghanistan on Monday evening, 11 October. Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland at the meeting.

President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development Gilbert F. Houngbo will visit Finland on 12 October, on the invitation of Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.