Minister Väyrynen to New York and London

Press Release 268/2010
20 September 2010

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will attend the UN Millennium Development Goals summit in New York on 21 September. During the summit, six roundtable sessions will be organized on different themes, and Minister Väyrynen will give Finland’s national statement at the roundtable session on promoting sustainable development.

The purpose of the summit is to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals, to review the results achieved during the past ten years and to focus on goals for which more resources would be needed.

While in New York, Minister Väyrynen will meet representatives of the 15 Member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The purpose is to hear their views on the development outlook of ECOWAS and its Member States and to discuss Finland’s development and trade policy objectives in Africa, especially the regional development cooperation for West Africa prepared by Finland.

In addition, Minister Väyrynen will deliver a speech on trade relations between Finland and the United States at an event organized by the Finnish American Chamber of Commerce.

On Wednesday, 22 September, Minister Väyrynen will visit London, where he will meet with Thomas Mirow, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). They will discuss topical issues within the EBRD, the activities of funds managed by the EBRD, and cooperation between Finland and the EBRD, for instance, in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia.

Minister Väyrynen will give a talk at the Cleantech Finland event, where Finnish companies present their know-how in the sector of environmental technology, and will also meet with Mark Prisk, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise of the UK.

Additional information: Hanna Saarni, Press Attaché to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 400 739 824