Foreign Minister of Burundi Antoinette Batumubwira to visit Finland

Press release 26/2007
13 February, 2007

Foreign Minister of Burundi Antoinette Batumubwira will visit Finland on 15-16 February. On 16 February, she will meet Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and representatives of Finnish development cooperation organisations. In their meeting, the ministers will discuss, for instance, the situation of Burundi and regional African questions of current interests. Burundi, located in Central Africa, is one of the poorest countries of the world and has been suffering from a long-lasting ethnic conflict. The international community has been supporting Burundi's peace efforts, and the country has been accepted as one of the target countries for the new UN Peacebuilding Commission.

Foreign Minister Batumubwira has a special relationship with Finland, since she used to live in Vantaa in 2002-2005 and she speaks Finnish.

Additional information: First Secretary Claus-Jerker Lindroos, Unit for Eastern and Western Africa, tel. +358 9 1605 6292