Foreign Minister Tuomioja to participate in Lebanon meeting in Rome and to visit Middle East

Press release 257/2006
24 July, 2006

As representative of the EU Presidency, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate in an international emergency meeting about Lebanon, to be held in Rome on 26 July. The other participants invited to attend this meeting at foreign minister level in addition to the EU, the United States and Russia include the UN Secretary-General and several other states of the region, among others.

In the meeting, the participants will discuss the humanitarian situation in Lebanon as well as the efforts aimed at ending the hostilities and finding a solution to the conflict. In Rome the representatives are also supposed to handle separately the question of providing assistance to Cyprus in receiving and sending people leaving from Lebanon to their home countries.

From Rome Foreign Minister Tuomioja is set to travel to Middle East on 27-28 July together with European Commissioner for External Relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

Further information: Press Attaché to Foreign Minister Susanna Parkkonen, tel. +358 9 1605 5012