Current affairs

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit Berlin to attend the 25th anniversary of the Nordic embassies on 21 October. Foreign Minister Valtonen and her Nordic colleagues will meet Germany’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock in connection with the event.

On October 16th 2024, the Nordic-Baltic countries’ foreign ministers visited Odesa, Ukraine. The visit took place against the backdrop of intensified Russian attacks against Ukraine resulting in further loss of lives, injuries, and widespread destruction. Finland is represented by Political State Secretary Pasi Rajala.

The Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Karen Ellemann, will visit Helsinki from 10 to 11 October and meet Finnish Minister for Nordic Cooperation Anders Adlercreutz.

Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will visit Copenhagen on 3 October. The aim of the visit is to promote the commercial and economic relations between Finland and Denmark and foreign investments in Finland. During his visit, Minister Tavio will meet Denmark’s public officials and key business representatives.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has sent out for comments a proposal for a new Decree of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on Fees for Services Produced by the Foreign Service in 2025. It is proposed that several of the Foreign Ministry's services which are currently provided free of charge should be made chargeable.

The high-level meetings of the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79) will start in New York on 24 September. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend ministerial events in New York and have bilateral meetings with their counterparts and with representatives of the UN.

Minister Anders Adlercreutz, who is responsible for Nordic cooperation, will attend a virtual meeting of the ministers for Nordic cooperation on Wednesday 11 September.

The aim of the visit is to strengthen political and commercial relations with key Western African countries.

The Government approved the proposal for the Report on International Economic Relations and Development Cooperation on 11 July 2024. The report complements the Report on Foreign and Security Policy with more detailed trade and development policy measures.

On 27 June 2024, Minister of Economic Affairs Wille Rydman and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio appointed Elina Björklund (M.Sc., Economics), Chairperson of the Board of Reima Group, to serve as the rapporteur preparing the reform of the Team Finland network of business services abroad to integrate the foreign functions of Business Finland with the Foreign Service.