The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has completed its internal investigation into the tax-free purchases made by the staff of the Finnish Embassy in Stockholm.

Ruotsin pääkaupungin keskustassa tapahtui lauantai-iltana 11. joulukuuta kaksi pommiräjähdystä, joita maan viranomaiset tutkivat terrori-iskuina. Suomen ulkoministeri Alexander Stubb ilmaisi huolensa räjähdyksistä. Hän muistutti, ettei vastaavaa ole Pohjoismaissa aiemmin tapahtunut.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will meet in Brussels on 21 January. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. On the morning of the day of the meeting, Finland will host an unofficial ministerial mediation breakfast, which will be attended by EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and representatives of African youth.

Finns are travelling to all corners of the world. In 2018, over 241,000 Finns registered at matkustustilmoitus.fi, which means that they submitted their travel plans and contact details to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Those who had submitted their travel details received information and instructions from the Foreign Ministry in 92 crisis situations, most of which were related to natural disasters.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will participate in the Nordic Travel Fair Matka 2019 at the Expo and Convention Centre, Messukeskus Helsinki, from 17 to 20 January 2019. At our stand 6s61, experts on travel safety and healthy travelling will provide you tips and advice on how to prepare for various situations when travelling abroad.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro Srđan Darmanović will visit Finland on Thursday 17 January and have a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

President Sauli Niinistö and President Xi Jinping published a Joint Action Plan on promoting a bilateral partnership between China and Finland during President Niinistö's state visit to China.

The aim is to increase exchange of information and cooperation between Finnish and Indian specialists and authorities.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Iceland on 13-15 January.

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria Abdelkader Messahel will visit Finland on Friday 11 January and have a meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will commission consultancy company Ramboll to conduct an independent study of how harassment incidents are handled in the Ministry.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Poland on 17-18 December.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will visit Rome on 3–4 October. During the visit, Virolainen will meet representatives of the Government of Italy and have meetings at UN organisations.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Iceland on 7–9 October 2018.

Ms Anne-Mari Virolainen, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, will visit Jakarta in Indonesia with a Team Finland trade delegation on 8–11 October.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will participate in the Annual Meeting of the World Bank Group and the meeting of the joint Development Committee of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Bali, Indonesia on 11–13 October.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will make a Team Finland visit to Shanghai and Beijing on 4-9 November. She will be accompanied by a business delegation.

Development financier Finnfund has succeeded in investing more and more in the world’s poorest countries and most difficult sectors, while also maintaining its commercial viability. The most positive development impacts can be seen in the company’s investments in agriculture and forestry. This information comes from an independent assessment of the company’s activities.

According to the recently published Global Humanitarian Overview, the estimated total need of humanitarian assistance in 2019 amounts to EUR 22 billion.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will meet in Brussels on 10 December. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. Ukraine's Minister for Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin will attend an informal lunch during the meeting.