Foreign Ministry's press releases

Finland contributes EUR 5 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) to support the implementation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. With Finland’s support, WFP is buying grain from Ukraine and taking it to African countries affected by the food crisis.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will lead a broad delegation on a visit to Uzbekistan from 21 to 23 February and to Kazakhstan from 23 to 25 February. Minister Skinnari is scheduled to meet state leaders of both countries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has awarded EUR 1,726,000 in discretionary government grants to 26 civil society organisations (CSOs) operating in the field of foreign and security policy.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on Monday 20 February. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany from 17 to 19 February.

Under-Secretary of State Pasi Hellman from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will attend the pledging conference of the Education Cannot Wait fund in Geneva 16 to 17 February. The fund supports education in humanitarian and prolonged crises. Finland will grant two million euros to the Education Cannot Wait fund this year. In 2020–2022, Finland supported the fund by a total of EUR 6 million.

Tunisia’s Minister of Communication Technologies, Dr Nizar Ben Neji, will visit Finland from 16 to 17 February.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will meet Greece’s Deputy Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Costas Fragkogiannis in Helsinki on 16 February.

On 13 February, the National Audit Office of Finland issued its audit report on Finnfund’s investments and risk management. Finnfund is an impact investment company that is almost entirely state-owned. It has a statutory duty to promote the social and economic development of developing countries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs suspended the issuing of visas to Thai berry pickers in November 2022. The Ministry stated as grounds for the suspension certain ambiguities concerning wild-berry picking, including risk of trafficking in human beings, an ongoing police investigation in Finland and the possible amendments to the status of wild-berry pickers prepared by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.