Foreign Minister Valtonen to visit Portugal and Germany

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit Lisbon, Portugal, on 14 May and Berlin, Germany, on 15 May.

In Lisbon, Minister Valtonen will meet Portugal’s Minister of State and Foreign Affairs Paulo Rangel. The topics of discussion at their bilateral meeting will include Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, EU enlargement and security policy issues. Foreign Minister Valtonen will also visit NATO institutions located in Portugal.

“Portugal is an increasingly important ally and partner to Finland bilaterally, in the EU and now in NATO as well. The strong transatlantic focus of Portugal’s foreign and security policy and close relations with African and Latin American countries, among others, bring a very interesting perspective to our discussions,” Minister Valtonen says.

In Berlin, Minister Valtonen will give a speech on international security policy at the Adenauer Conference and participate as a panellist in the event ‘75 Years of NATO’ organised by the German Parliamentary Delegation to NATO.

“Germany is of great importance to Finland and Europe. It is important to maintain continuous and extensive dialogue and to deepen our close cooperation relationships in foreign and security policy issues. These topical events in Berlin will give me an excellent opportunity for this,” says Foreign Minister Valtonen.