Foreign Ministry's press releases

Programme-based support for Finnish civil society organisations (CSOs) is allocated for the implementation of Finland’s development policy objectives to eradicate extreme poverty, reduce inequality and promote human rights. The work is carried out in close cooperation with developing countries’ own CSOs. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted approximately EUR 276 million for Finnish CSO’s multiannual development cooperation in 2022–2025.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has issued a Decree on the Amendment of Fees for Services Produced by the Foreign Service for 2020–2022. The amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2022 and will remain in force until 31 December 2022.

In its session on 25 November 2021, the Government appointed Counsellor for Foreign Affairs Jukka Salovaara to serve as Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs starting on 1 May 2022.

The social security agreement between Finland and Japan will enter into force on 1 February 2022. Ville Skinnari, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and Takashi Murata, Japan’s Ambassador to Finland, exchanged notes on 25 November to bring the bilateral agreement into force. When the agreement enters into force, workers posted to a Contracting State will avoid double pension and unemployment insurance contributions.

The United Nations has designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The day begins an annual international campaign called 16 Days of Activism, which draws attention to this important human rights violation. During the day, well-known buildings around the world will be illuminated in orange – the colour chosen to symbolise the day. This year, the Government will observe the day by illuminating the Merikasarmi building of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

On 25 November, Minister for Nordic Cooperation Thomas Blomqvist will attend a conference in Torshavn on the Faeroe Islands. The conference will discuss the experiences gained from crisis management in the Nordic countries during the COVID-19 pandemic and future Nordic cooperation in crisis preparedness. This is one of the key priorities for Finland’s Presidency in the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2021.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Oslo on 22–23 November. Minister Skinnari will meet ministers of Norway’s new Government and visit a waste treatment plant that makes use of carbon capture technologies. The Minister will also attend a seminar organised by the Finnish and Norwegian Shipowners Associations and the Embassy of Finland in Oslo.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will represent Finland at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting of EU development ministers on 19 November in Brussels.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Thomas Blomqvist will speak in a forum on the state and future of cross-border regional cooperation (Gränsregionalt Forum) in Oulu on 18 November. He will also meet local actors, including representatives of the Bothnian Arc collaboration and the City of Oulu, BusinessOulu and the University of Oulu.

Tim Walz, Governor of Minnesota, will visit Finland on 17–19 November. This is the Governor’s first visit abroad since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.