Press releases of Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

At the Global Vaccine Summit on 4 June 2020, Finland pledged EUR 2.5 million to the Vaccine Alliance Gavi. Finland’s contribution will be used to help Gavi reach its goal to immunise 300 children in the next five years and to strengthen global access to a COVID-19 vaccine. By supporting the healthcare systems of the poorest countries, it is possible to prevent the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases globally.

On 4 May, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend a virtual meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Small Group. Ministers will review the next steps in the fight to defeat ISIS.

The centenary of diplomatic relations between Estonia and Finland will be celebrated on Monday 8 June 2020.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Jussi Palmén to the post of Counsellor for Cultural Affairs at the Embassy of Finland in Moscow. The three-year term will start on 1 August 2020.

Three families who have escaped from the al-Hol camp have arrived from Turkey to Finland this afternoon. Children and women were interned in the al-Hol camp in Syria which they left in the spring. The families’ children are under ten years of age. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has consistently recommended that no one try to leave the camp in the war zone on their own.

EU foreign affairs ministers will hold an informal video conference on Friday 29 May. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The main topic on the agenda will be China.

In April, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Emergency Response Centre Agency signed an agreement, according to which the Emergency Response Centre Agency will continue to provide the Foreign Ministry’s round-the-clock services for Finnish citizens. Based on an agreement between the Ministry and the Emergency Response Centre Agency, the Agency has been responsible for the Ministry’s 24/7 consular services for Finnish citizens in difficulties abroad since 1 August 2018. The function is a part of the Foreign Ministry’s services for travellers as provided for in the Consular Services Act and the Security Strategy for Society.

On 7 May, the Government appointed Elina Ravantti as Director General of Communications at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She will take up her duties on 15 June 2020 and the term of office will end on 28 February 2025. Ravantti is currently Head of Yle Journalism Academy.

EU foreign affairs ministers will meet at an informal video conference on Friday 15 May. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting which will focus on the wider Middle East and North Africa and on the Middle East peace process.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Sanna Immanen as Press Officer to the Embassy of Finland in Tallinn. The three-year term starts on 1 August 2020.

With support from Finland, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will provide testing equipment needed in detecting the coronavirus to the IAEA member states that have requested support. The fight against the coronavirus pandemic requires extensive testing worldwide. Support from the IAEA is helping to increase testing capacity in the countries most in need.

Finland will make the Elements of AI online course available to EU citizens in 2020–2021. The objective is to train one per cent of EU citizens in the basics of artificial intelligence, thereby strengthening digital competence within the EU. The course will be published first in Latvia on 6 May 2020.

EU foreign ministers will hold an informal video conference on Wednesday 22 April. Finland will be represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The main topics on the agenda will be Ukraine and the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood countries. Additionally, ministers will continue discussion on the coronavirus situation.

In an analysis published on Tuesday 21 April 2020, the Development Policy Committee estimates that coronavirus affects the most vulnerable people in the world and can lead to record levels in the need for humanitarian assistance. The Development Policy Committee is an advisory body representing the parliamentary parties and society at large.

Finland will invest EUR 20 million in the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Ventures Investment Fund 1. The investment will be made from the appropriation for development policy investments.

Finland contributed EUR 1,006 million to development cooperation and, calculated as a proportion of gross national income (GNI), was the ninth largest donor among the EU Member States, representing the EU average. In relation to the previous year, Finland’s development cooperation expenditure rose in real terms by 18.2 per cent, which is more than in any other Member of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will participate in EU trade ministers’ informal videoconference on 16 April 2020.

Finland provides humanitarian assistance to help organisations in the field to respond to changing and abrupt needs more efficiently. Preventing the spread of coronavirus requires support and timely action also in refugee camps and crisis areas.

On 8 April, EU development ministers discussed the EU’s common response to the global impacts of coronavirus. At the meeting, Minister for International Development Ville Skinnari told about Finland’s first-hand measures.

On 8 April 2020, the Government re-appointed the Advisory Board for International Human Rights, operating under the administration of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Its task is to follow international human rights questions and to issue statements on related matters that are of fundamental importance.