Finland opens embassies in Dakar and Doha

Today, the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö approved an amendment to the Decree of the President of the Republic on the Foreign Service. The amendment concerning the locations of Finland’s diplomatic missions and the provision of consular services in the Diplomatic Service will enter into force on 10 December 2021. With the amendment, embassies of Finland will be established in Dakar, Senegal, and in Doha, Qatar, as of 10 December 2021.

Both embassies will start their operations on a small scale and in temporary office premises. Consular services for Dakar and Doha will be provided in the Embassy of Finland in Abuja and in the Embassy of Finland in Abu Dhabi respectively until the premises of the new missions are ready to provide those services. However, as of 10 December, both embassies will provide services for people in distress as well as other urgent consular services requiring immediate action on site.

The amendment to the Decree will also apply to the Embassy of Finland in Tehran, which in future will have the authority to provide residence permit services to Afghans residing legally in Iran. Before, these services have only been provided by the Embassy of Finland in New Delhi.
 

Inquiries:

Pekka Puustinen, Under-Secretary of State, tel. +358 295 350 228
Joel Linnainmäki, Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 295 350 466
Claus-Jerker Lindroos, Deputy Director General, Department for Africa and the Middle East, tel. +358 295 351 234
The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format [email protected].