In this year’s elections to the European Parliament, 16,325 persons voted in Finland’s missions and offices abroad, while 228 Finnish crew members cast their advance votes on board ships.

Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Deputy Executive Director for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), will visit Finland on 23–24 May.

The OECD will hold its Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) in Paris on 22–23 May 2019. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

The Session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe ended successfully. The member States unanimously adopted a Declaration, which emphasises the far-reaching significance of the Council of Europe for human rights, the rule of law and democracy.

Permanent State Secretary Matti Anttonen, accompanied by a business delegation, will visit Japan on 22–24 May 2019, where he will also participate in the events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and Japan.

The Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has invited the honorary consuls representing Finland in Latin America for a visit to Helsinki on 20-22 May 2019.

EU development ministers will have a meeting at the Foreign Affairs Council on 16 May in Brussels. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

The Session of the Committee of Ministers, to be held at Finlandia Hall on 17 May 2019, will mark the end of Finland’s Presidency of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. At the meeting, Finland will hand over the Presidency to France. More than 30 ministers from the member States of the Council of Europe will attend the meeting. The meeting will be chaired by Foreign Minister Timo Soini.

The 10th Finnish Internet Forum (FIF) will discuss topical matters related to the future of the internet, including 5G networks, open and decentralised web, and the role of the EU in the development of the internet.

In the government budget session, decisions were made on additional funding for the Foreign Ministry' network of missions, regional cooperation, and export promotion. The Ministry’s operating expenses total EUR 224.8 million.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is planning and creating communication that will promote peace and reconciliation in Iraq and Afghanistan. Communication will focus on young people and the faith that young people hold in their own ability to contribute to society.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will meet in Brussels on 13 and 14 May. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The Council will discuss Libya and the situation in the Sahel.

In the upcoming government formation talks, a more determined approach must be adopted towards global challenges such as climate change and poverty. The Development Policy Committee's response to the challenge is a global responsibility model, which would form a foundation for the conduct of development policy for several parliamentary terms and across administrative boundaries.

As a NATO partner country, Finland will participate in the Crisis Management Exercise 2019 (CMX19) between 9 and 15 May.

The 11th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting will be held in Rovaniemi, Finland, on Tuesday 7 May 2019. The meeting will be hosted by Finland and chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

In this year’s parliamentary elections, a total of 41,127 eligible voters used their right to vote abroad. Of these, 40,914 persons voted in Finnish missions abroad during the advance voting period, while 213 Finnish crew members cast their advance votes on board ships.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Soini will have a meeting with New Zealand's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters in Helsinki on 26 April.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit New York on 22–25 April 2019 to attend meetings of the General Assembly and the Security Council of the UN. His programme will include events that concentrate on the strengthening of multilateralism, the prevention of conflicts, and mediation, for example.

Minister Anne Berner will attend a meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation in Copenhagen on 24 April.

In 2018, the amount of expenditure used for development cooperation fell in real terms by 14.6% in relation to the previous year. With a contribution of EUR 833 million to development cooperation, Finland was the ninth largest donor among the EU Member States.