Foreign Ministry's press releases

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 20 March. A joint session of EU foreign and defence ministers will be held on the same day. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting. Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen will represent Finland at the joint session. In addition, Minister Haavisto and Minister Kaikkonen will meet NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

Finland’s new National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security was published on 13 March. This is Finland’s fourth National Action Plan (NAP), extending from 2023 to the end of 2027. The NAP is the result of a broad-based stakeholder collaboration. Its key objective is to strengthen women’s participation in the area of peace and security, and thereby support efforts to build sustainable peace.

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.

Kansainvälistä kauppaa harjoittavista suomalaisyrityksistä 41 prosenttia oli kohdannut kansainvälisiä kaupanesteitä vuosina 2019–2022, kertoo Elinkeinoelämän tutkimuslaitoksen (Etla) ulkoministeriölle ja työ- ja elinkeinoministeriölle tekemä tutkimus.

Ukraine has requested support from Finland, particularly to meet the immediate and longer-term needs related to education, the environment and radiation safety. Finland will provide Ukraine with EUR 29 million in humanitarian assistance and development cooperation support.

The third meeting of the Permanent Joint Mechanism between Finland, Sweden and Türkiye was held in Brussels on 9 March. The discussions took place at NATO Headquarters. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also participated in the first part of the meeting.

The meeting agenda will also include global health and the EU’s competitiveness. Finland is represented by the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

As a NATO invitee, Finland will participate in NATO Crisis Management Exercise 2023 (CMX23) to be held between 9 and 15 March. CMX is NATO’s regular consultation and decision-making exercise.

The 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will take place in New York between 6 and 17 March 2023. Finland will be represented at the session by a broad-based delegation headed by Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality Thomas Blomqvist.

State Secretary Johanna Sumuvuori will lead Finland’s national delegation to the UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries in Doha, Qatar. More than one third of Finland’s development cooperation funding goes to the least developed countries, which also make up the majority of Finland’s bilateral partners.