Foreign Ministry's press releases

Due to the prolonged government session on spending limits, Minister Skinnari’s visit to Copenhagen will take place virtually. The scheduled meetings there will be held over remote connections.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Copenhagen on 26–27 April. The aim of the visit is to promote bilateral commercial and economic cooperation and to discuss other topical trade policy matters. A business delegation representing the wind power sector will participate in the visit virtually.

Adopted in June 2013, Protocol No. 15 amending the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) will enter into force on 1 August 2021. It will introduce substantial changes to the right to submit applications to the European Court of Human Rights.

The main topics to be discussed at the April meeting of the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs are the situation in Ethiopia and Ukraine. Finland’s representative at the informal video conference will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The Ministers will also hold an informal exchange with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba.

Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will make a virtual Team Finland visit to Sweden on 15 April 2021. The visit is intended to intensify trade relations between Finnish and Swedish companies, particularly in the food and beverage industries, the textile industry and the sustainable healthcare sectors.

Finland's development cooperation expenditure in 2020 amounted to EUR 1 119 million. This represented 0.47 per cent of Finland's gross national income (GNI). Last year, the total amount of the exclusive ODA budget item administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs was EUR 708.4 million.

Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister of Finland, mandated by the EU High Representative Josep Borrell, is undertaking a second mission to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Foreign Minister will discuss the situation in Ethiopia, notably the crisis in Tigray and its regional implications.

Today, on 1 April 2021, the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee issued its recommendations to Finland concerning Finland’s seventh Periodic Report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

According to Finland in the World Media, an annual survey commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the innovative management of the coronavirus pandemic was the most important theme connected to Finland last year. Other news in the world media highlighted the strengths of Finland’s country image: equality, high-quality education system and stable society. The review estimates that Finland’s general reputation has further improved in foreign media.

Minister Skinnari will visit Stockholm on 31 March–1 April. The purpose of the visit is to promote both countries’ access on a growth track in international trade after COVID-19. Worldwide and European recovery measures offer excellent growth opportunities for Finnish and Swedish companies when they explore solutions related to green transition, digitalisation and development of industries.