Speeches

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen delivered the Nordic-Baltic speech at the 57th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on 23 September 2024.

Minister Anders Adlercreutz: "For us, it is important to strengthen the Nordic countries’ resilience to crisis and to promote comprehensive and wide-ranging preparedness for various crises and hybrid threats."

Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen at the FIIA (Finnish Institute of International Affairs) Forum on 20 March 2024.

Distinguished ministers, Under Secretary-General, Permanent representatives, dear friends, It is my great pleasure and honor to close the second LDC Future Forum in Helsinki.

Distinguished Ministers, Under-Secretary General, Permanent Representatives, Excellencies, dear Guests,

Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen at the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Human Rights Council's 55th session on 26 February 2024.

Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen at the Hudson Insitute in Washington, D.C. on 18 December 2023.

Turku 1.9.2023 “Politics of the Zeitenwende: The Baltic Sea, Europe and the Transatlantic Alliance”

"The exceptional times we have been living in recent years have emphasised the importance of Nordic cooperation. Finland has also a lot to offer to other Nordic countries, and we should learn from others in many sectors of society. Through Nordic interaction, we will be able to effectively advance various matters," says minister Anna-Maja Henriksson in her speech.

The focus of the Government Programme is on promoting exports and investments, which will support the access of Finnish companies to the growing markets, says Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio in his speech.

A new era has begun in Finland's foreign and security policy. NATO membership will strengthen not only our security, but also the stability of Northern Europe. Finland's strong defence capability and resilience will strengthen the whole Alliance, says Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen in her speech at the Annual Meeting of Heads of Mission.

Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto's keynote address at the Fletcher School Commencement May 21, 2023.

on March 7 2023 in Doha

Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto at the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Human Rights Council's 52nd session on 27 February 2023.

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

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto was invited by the EU High Representative Joseph Borrell to address the European Union Heads of Mission.

Keynote speech by foreign minister Pekka Haavisto at Europe Forum in Turku on 26th August 2022.

"While Europe stands united in relation to Russia and in condemning military action, we must not ignore or forget Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Yemen and other countries where human rights or the social conditions for living a decent life are under threat. The global need for humanitarian aid is now greater than ever before. No single humanitarian crisis is more important than another. These are always matters of human distress."

"The strength of our collaboration has been visible during a time when our security policy has been under tremendous challenges. The Nordic countries have supported each other through close cooperation. The fact that all Nordic countries will soon be NATO members signifies a new era in Nordic collaboration. We must take advantage of the momentum we have gained and maintain it."

"In times of crisis, decision-making capacity is weighed up. Through good cooperation between various actors, Finland has made the necessary foreign and security policy decisions. In the middle of difficult times, we have made rapid but deliberate progress."

"The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ important role and capacity to function become particularly emphasised in such exceptional times and transition points as those described above. In a time like this, when many of the basic factors of international politics are evolving rapidly, we do not need to question the importance of diplomacy." 

Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Friday 27 May 2022

Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto at the UN Human Rights Council, 49th session High-Level Segment on Monday 28 February 2022

Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues, It really feels good to be Finnish right now. Our team may not have brought home gold from the Olympics in Tokyo, but our efforts to tackle the Covid crisis are surely worth a few medals. This is a good opportunity for me to extend my thanks to you for your hard work. This is also a chance to for us to take a look ahead together.

Distinguished Ambassadors, dear colleagues and friends, When I spoke on this forum a year ago, I truly hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic had abated by now and that life had already started to normalise. We are not there yet, and we are meeting remotely, again.

Distinguished Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, This year has shown very clearly the importance of foreign policy and the work of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. I do not mean just the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan and the tasks related to it, but all the events of the past few months: the global response to the coronavirus crisis, international efforts to halt climate change, work to promote the Finnish economy on our key export markets and to strengthen our education and innovation profile, disarmament issues, human rights and development contributions to the world’s poorest countries.

Distinguished Ministers and Heads of Mission, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the 2021 Meeting of Heads of Mission! As you can see from the picture, I am here in the familiar Engel Hall in the newly renovated premises of Merikasarmi. While on the face of it this space may appear to be the same as before, the Ritarikatu Hall, where the panel discussions are being held, is not easily recognisable.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade of Finland Ville Skinnari delivered the statement on behalf of the governments and peoples of 81 countries.

Nordic Joint Statement Issued by Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland on the occasion of Arria formula meeting in United Nation Security Council on Media Freedom in Belarus 22 January 2020

Speech by Minister Pekka Haavisto at the UN Biodiversity Summit 30.9.2020

Speech by Minister Skinnari at the Tax Inspectors Without Borders Initiative event

Speech by Minister Ville Skinnari at the Annual Ministerial Meeting of LDCs 17.9.2020