Press releases of Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland

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.

EU foreign ministers will hold an informal video conference again on 3 April 2020. Finland will be represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The main topic on the agenda will be the outbreak of the coronavirus disease.

A consultative group on trade policy, led by Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari, will be set up to work out solutions to the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic for Finnish foreign trade both with third countries and in the EU single market.

On 16 March 2020, the Government decided that emergency conditions as referred to in the Emergency Powers Act prevail in Finland. From the Foreign Ministry's viewpoint, the serious disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic is simultaneously affecting Finland's missions abroad, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland and Finnish society as a whole. The Ministry has therefore decided to make temporary changes in its management structure to be able to operate according to the Ministry's preparedness arrangements. These changes will take place on 24 March 2020.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Government issued a resolution on 24 March allowing the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to plan to arrange reasonably priced repatriation flights for travellers who are no longer able to return to Finland using commercial connections. In line with the Government resolution, a maximum of EUR 4,000,000 in support can be provided for repatriation flights.

Owing to the coronavirus outbreak, Finland, in line with the rest of the Schengen countries, has suspended the reception of normal visa applications in Finland’s missions with immediate effect from 19 March until further notice.

A report entitled Finland in the World Media, based on Finnish diplomatic and consular missions’ reviews of the visibility of Finland in foreign media, shows that Finland continues to attract wide international coverage. The change of government towards the end of 2019 and Sanna Marin’s appointment as Prime Minister attracted exceptionally wide international interest in Finland. As in previous years, other key themes connected to Finland were the education system, equality, and gender equality.

On 23 March 2020, the Informal Meeting of EU Foreign Ministers will be held as a video conference. Finland will be represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The main topic on the agenda will be the COVID-19 outbreak.

English, Russian and Ukrainian versions of the press release.

Finland will contribute one million euros to the World Health Organization (WHO) for its work in developing countries to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. WHO will provide expert and material assistance especially to countries with a poor capacity to fight the epidemic.

Preparations for a new report on foreign and security policy are currently under way. As part of this process, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will organise a series of panel discussions on topical foreign and security policy questions in cooperation with five Finnish universities in spring 2020.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted a total of EUR 1,061,000 in discretionary government transfers to 13 civil society organisations (CSO) working in the area of foreign and security policy.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Gymnich) in Zagreb on 5 March. The topics on the agenda are Turkey and Russia. In connection with the Gymnich meeting, an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council will be held on 6 March to discuss the situation in Syria.

Dimitri Qvintus has been appointed to serve as Special Adviser to Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari, starting on Tuesday 3 March 2020.

Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov will visit Helsinki on 3 March.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Washington DC on 27–28 February.

Minister Ville Skinnari will visit Tanzania on 23–25 February and Mozambique on 26–28 February. During the visit, the Minister will learn about Finland's development cooperation in the two countries and have meetings with their political leadership. The visit will also promote commercial cooperation between Finland and these countries.

On 25 February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will travel to Berlin to attend the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), hosted by the German Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the visit, Foreign Minister Haavisto will have a separate meeting with Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas.

On Monday 24 February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.