Finnish Ministers to Nordic meetings in Oslo
Government Communications Department
Press release 451/2013
25.10.2013
Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja, Minister for Nordic Cooperation Alexander Stubb and Minister of Defence Carl Haglund will participate, as representatives of the Finnish Government, in the Nordic Council Session and in sector-specific Nordic meetings on between 28 and 31 October in Oslo.
Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen will attend the Nordic Prime Ministers' meeting and the meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries. The Nordic Prime Ministers' meeting will focus on Arctic policy, Barents area cooperation and key foreign and security policy issues. The Prime Ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries will discuss the economic situation in Europe, Lithuania's ongoing EU Presidency, the EU's Eastern Partnership and the forthcoming Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius. In addition, the Nordic Prime Ministers will hold speeches at the Nordic Council Session.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Tuomioja will participate in the meeting of Nordic Foreign Ministers in Oslo. The central theme of the meeting is further development of Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation, including the Nordic countries’ cooperation in peacekeeping operations, the Nordic UN policy and Nordic cooperation in diplomatic missions. The Ministers will also discuss key foreign policy questions such as the situation in Syria and the Middle East as well as the EU's Eastern Partnership. Sweden holds the chairmanship of the Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation this year.
At the Nordic Council, Minister for Nordic Cooperation Stubb will, together with other Cooperation Ministers, give presentations on key areas of Nordic cooperation. The agenda includes the 2014 budget of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the report on Nordic cooperation in the removal of cross-border barriers and the revised guidelines for cooperation with the Baltic States, Belarus and Northwest Russia. Minister Stubb will shed some light on cooperation at the level of Nordic Council of Ministers in EU issues. Members of the Nordic Council will have an opportunity to pose questions to the Cooperation Ministers of all Nordic countries and their autonomous areas (the Åland Islands, the Faroe Islands and Greenland).
In addition to the Nordic Council Session, Minister Stubb will participate during the week in Cooperation Ministers' own meetings, a meeting between Trade Ministers and discuss with a group of young people from Ostrobothnia.
Minister for Nordic Cooperation Haglund will hold a presentation reviewing defence policy issues at the Nordic Council Session. Haglund will also have a meeting with Ine Eriksen Søreide, the newly appointed Minister of Defence of Norway. The Ministers will discuss key issues relating to Nordic Defence Cooperation, NORDEFCO.
The Nordic Council Session is the largest Nordic cooperation forum of the year. It will gather together Members of the Nordic Council, Prime Ministers, opposition leaders and other ministers. In 2013, the work of the Nordic Council under the Norwegian Presidency has focused on the prevention of youth unemployment and the strengthening of cooperation in the health care sector. Closer Nordic defence cooperation has also been a central theme.
Inquiries:
Prime Minister: Antti Vänskä, Special Adviser to the Prime Minister (International Affairs), tel. +358 40 513 1458; Bo Lindroos, Head of the Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation, tel. +358 40 158 5451; and Päivi Mutanen-Pirttilä, Communications Specialist, tel. +358 40 705 3323
Minister for Foreign Affairs: Katja Kalamäki, Diplomatic Adviser, tel. +358 295 351 780
Minister for Nordic Cooperation: Bo Lindroos, Head of the Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation, tel. +358 40 158 5451 and Mari-Kaisa Brander, Press Attaché, tel. +358 40 131 3388
Minister of Defence: Kristian Vakkuri, Senior Advisor, tel. +358 295 140 123
Nordic Council www.norden.org/en(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)