Current affairs

Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Transport and Communications Minna Kivimäki has been nominated a candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). There are altogether seven candidates for the post.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs completes Finland’s relief effort in Sudan on Thursday 27 April.

Finland will join NATO on Tuesday 4 April. We collected the daily events and links to live webcasts from Brussels.

On 4 April, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will deposit Finland's instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty. Minister Haavisto will deposit the instrument of accession in Brussels with the Government of the United States. Finland will become a NATO member country at the moment of the deposit. Minister Haavisto will also represent Finland at the meeting of NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs starting on the same day.

A total of 42,198 eligible voters cast their vote in advance at Finland’s missions and offices abroad in this year’s parliamentary elections.

Finland seeks election to the International Maritime Organization Council (IMO) for the 2024–2025 term.

On 23 March 2023, President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö decided that Finland would commit itself to the North Atlantic Treaty and the Ottawa Agreement, which were accepted by Parliament on 1 March 2023. The presenting minister was Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The President of the Republic also confirmed the acts bringing into force the Treaty and the Agreement.

The Finnish missions and embassies report that following the application for NATO membership and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Finland’s political leaders featured prominently in the international media. In 2021, it was Finnish athletes who received most mentions in the international news media, but last year President Sauli Niinistö, Prime Minister Sanna Marin, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto rose to the top of the list alongside athletes.

Finland’s image grew stronger in 2022. Finland has had remarkable visibility in foreign media, and news about Finland has met with an exceptionally positive reception. In particular, opinions about Finland’s government and people have become even more positive. Increased familiarity with Finland is important as the country seeks ways to influence the world, according to the Country Image Annual Report, published by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Fund for Local Cooperation (FLC) is a part of Finland’s official development co-operation. FLC is geared for local civil society actors to carry out well-targeted projects with clear goals and sustainable outcome. The office of the Roving Ambassador of Finland to South Caucasus is now seeking proposals for non-profit projects in Georgia that it will fund through the Fund for Local Cooperation (FLC) instrument in 2023-2024.