Nordic development ministers to be Hautala’s guests in Helsinki

Press release 16/2012
19 January, 2012

Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala, has invited her Nordic colleagues to meet in Helsinki on Monday, 23 January. A common Nordic policy on major development policy and development cooperation issues will be forged at the meeting. The meeting will be attended by Ministers Gunilla Carlsson (Sweden), Christian Friis-Bach (Denmark), Erik Solheim (Norway) and Director General Maria Erla Marelsdóttir (Iceland).

The meeting agenda includes, among other topics, the launch of negotiations on the EU’s financial framework, to take place during Denmark’s EU Presidency, which will determine how much, where and how the EU will give development assistance in 2014–2020. The meeting will also discuss the Rio Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in June and the objectives of development policy once the deadline for the UN’s Millennium Development Goals has passed in 2015.

The ministers last met in December, at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan, South Korea. On the basis of the decisions taken at the Forum, the ministers will continue the discussion on ways in which development assistance can be improved through extensive cooperation.

Additional information: Timo Olkkonen, Head of the General Development Policy and Planning Unit, tel. +358 9 1605 6283, Milma Kettunen, Press Attaché to the Minister for International Development, mobile tel. +358 40 522 9869