Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gabrielius Landsbergis in Vilnius on 16 April.

The support for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion was clearly reflected in the 2023 official development assistance spending (ODA) of Finland and many other EU Member States, according to data released by the OECD today. Ukraine was the largest recipient of Finland’s ODA for the second consecutive year.

Finland’s NATO membership process attracted exceptionally wide international media attention, which has also led to a broader general interest in the country. According to comparative studies on country branding, Finland is now better known and the attitudes towards the country are more positive than before. This is highly beneficial in terms of Finland’s aim to be a globally influential player. This is the conclusion of the latest publication of Finland Promotion Board, How the World Sees Finland.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its decision today in a case brought by six Portuguese young persons against 33 states, including Finland, concerning the harmful effects of climate change. The decision is final.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend a meeting of Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers in the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8) forum in Visby, Sweden, on 9–10 April.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will lead a trade mission to Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan on 9–12 April.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has appointed the Finland Promotion Board, which directs Finland’s country branding work, for a term from 15 March 2024 to 31 December 2027.

At the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs on 4 April 2024, Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on countering foreign state information manipulation. With the MoU, Finland and the United States reaffirm their shared understanding of the importance of countering information manipulation and of the key best practices.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend the meeting of NATO Foreign Affairs Ministers in Brussels on 3–4 April.

Finland and the United States signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement in Washington DC on 18 December 2023. A draft government proposal to Parliament on the acceptance of the agreement was sent out for comments on 28 March 2024. The draft proposal was prepared by a wide-ranging cross-government working group, led by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.