Press releases of Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

Through the Foreign Ministry’s funding for development cooperation Finnish CSOs and their partners promote poverty eradication, reduction of inequality and the fulfilment of human rights. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has awarded approximately EUR 21 million in discretionary government grants for Finnish CSOs’ development cooperation projects in 2023–2026.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend Nordic foreign ministers’ meeting in N5 format in Norway on 27 June.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality, Thomas Blomqvist, will attend a meeting of the Ministers for Nordic Cooperation in Halden, Norway, on 27–28 June. One of the main topics of the meeting will be Nordic cooperation in times of crisis with a particular focus on the role of the ministers for Nordic cooperation in ensuring the exchange of information between the countries. At the meeting, ministers will adopt a joint declaration on cooperation during crises.

The international community supports the sustainability and operational capacity of Ukraine’s public sector in the midst of the war through the World Bank’s FREE Ukraine Multi-Donor Trust Fund. Following Russia’s aggression in February 2022, Finland has granted EUR 21 million in additional funding for development cooperation and humanitarian assistance in Ukraine.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will participate in a high-level panel discussion to be held in connection with the summer session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. Minister Haavisto will have also bilateral meetings.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Luxembourg on Monday 20 June. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting. The main themes on the agenda of the Foreign Affairs Council will be the Horn of Africa, EU relations with Egypt and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Ministers will also have a discussion on the Persian Gulf.

Executive Secretary Robert Floyd of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) is visiting Finland from 15 to 17 June at the invitation of Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The will includes a tour of Finland’s CTBTO monitoring network.

On 14–16 June 2022, Finland will serve for the second time in succession as president of the session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Representatives from more than 180 countries are expected to attend the conference in New York. A large number of representatives of civil society organisations and UN agencies, dedicated to promoting the rights of persons with disabilities, will also attend the conference. The Finnish delegation will be led by Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara.

The Fifth National Dialogues Conference (NDC) will bring about 120 peace mediation experts from 30 different countries to Helsinki on 15–16 June. On the two days, the conference will focus on the significance and challenges of national dialogues in the changing world. Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will open the conference and participate in the opening panel discussion.

On 13 June 2022, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) adopted an opinion on a matter concerning the right to be included in the electoral roll in Sámi parliamentary elections.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit New York and Washington DC on 14–17 June 2022. The matters on the agenda of discussions during the visit will include questions relating to UN specialised agencies focusing on development, the security situation in Europe, and commercial cooperation between the two countries, especially in the forest sector.

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) will hold its 50th regular session from 13 June to 8 July 2022. It is the UN’s most important intergovernmental body protecting and promoting human rights.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will host a Nordic-African Foreign Ministers' Meeting on 13–15 June. In addition to the Nordic foreign ministers, 25 African foreign ministers have been invited to the meeting.

The Security Committee has granted its 2021 Timanttiteko (Diamond Act) award to the Foreign Ministry’s AI-assisted data analytics experiment. According to the Security Committee, the project has been exemplary in implementing the objectives of the Security Strategy for Society.

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 working group appointed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs presents proposals concerning the amendment of the Act on the Making of Decisions Concerning the Provision of and Request for International Assistance. The working group proposes that the Act be amended so that its scope of application would cover not only international assistance but also activities arising from Finland's national needs without an outside request. This would involve a Finnish authority acting outside the territory of Finland, but within the restrictions of international law, either independently or in support of another Finnish authority.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will organise a thisisFINLAND Foreign Correspondents’ Programme (FCP) from 5 to 11 June 2022. The programme will give 13 young foreign correspondents and media professionals an opportunity to learn about Finland and the Finnish society.

A new fast track service enables specialists, growth entrepreneurs and their family members to obtain a residence permit within 14 days. The service will be launched at the beginning of June. This service pledge is one of the Government's many measures to streamline the immigration of experts.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney in Helsinki on 7 June.

The European Union (EU) published a new package of sanctions on 3 June 2022. The new sanctions prohibit the import of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia.