Foreign Minister Tuomioja to Brussels, Kyiv and Warsaw

Press release 252/2013
4.12.2013

This week, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate in the NATO/ISAF meeting in Brussels, Belgium, on 4 December and the OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv, Ukraine, on 5–6 December. On 6 December, the Minister will meet Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski in Warsaw and attend the Independence Day receptions held by Finnish Embassies in both Kiev and Warsaw.

NATO/ISAF meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels

The biannual NATO Foreign Ministerial Meeting will be held in Brussels on 3–4 December. The Ministerial consists of the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs on 3 December and a separate foreign ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Council with non-NATO nations contributing to the NATO crisis management operation in Afghanistan (ISAF). Finland’s representative at the meeting is Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

The topics of the foreign ministerial of ISAF nations include the current political and security situation in Afghanistan, provision of support for the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) through NATO trust fund, and the reform of the trust fund. In addition, the meeting will address such issues as the drawdown of the ISAF operation in Afghanistan, and the current situation in the planning of the Resolute Support mission. The Afghan Foreign Minister and Interior Minister have also been invited to the meeting.

OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ministerial Council in Kyiv on 5–6 December. The objective of the meeting is to strengthen the status of the OSCE as comprehensive security organisation in all three dimension areas: the politico-military dimension, the economic and environmental dimension, and the human dimension. The work launched last year for defining the OSCE vision – its role and direction in the coming years – will also be one of the council’s main themes. Other topics to be highlighted in the meeting include the confidence building measures in the field of cyber security, and the OSCE efforts to promote stability in Afghanistan.

Furthermore, Minister Tuomioja will have bilateral meetings in Kyiv and he will attend the Independence Day reception at the Finnish Embassy in Kyiv.

Meeting with Poland’s Foreign Minister Sikorski in Warsaw

From the OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv Foreign Minister Tuomioja will travel to Warsaw to meet Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radosław Sikorski.

Issues to be addressed in the bilateral talks between the Ministers include the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), the main topic of the forthcoming December European Council; the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood after the Vilnius Summit; Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the Baltic Sea States; and the bilateral relations between Finland and Poland. After the talks, Foreign Minister Tuomioja will attend the Independence Day reception arranged by the Finnish Embassy in Warsaw. Tuomioja will return to Finland late on Friday evening.

Additional information:

NATO/ISAF Foreign Ministerial in Brussels on 4 December: Pia Rantala-Engberg, Ambassador for the Mission of Finland to NATO, tel. +32 2 706 21 00; Mikko Kinnunen, Head of Unit for Security Policy and Crisis Management, tel. +358 50 408 3860; and Tarja Kangaskorte, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 40 181 9257

OSCE Ministerial Council in Kyiv on 5–6 December: Katja Pehrman, Permanent Representative of Finland to the OSCE, tel. +43 676 8483 50350; Mikko Kinnunen, Head of Unit for Security Policy and Crisis Management, tel. +358 50 408 3860; and Tarja Kangaskorte, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 40 181 9257

Meeting with Minister Sikorski in Warsaw on 6 December: Rolf Johansson, Counsellor, tel. +358 295 350 810; and Tarja Kangaskorte, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 40 181 9257

 

NATO
OSCE
crisis management
safety and security