Prime Minister convened a meeting on peace building

Government Communications Unit
Press release 371/2010
16.12.2010

Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi had invited parliamentary group chairpersons to Kesäranta on Wednesday, 15 December, to discuss peace mediation, or peace building in a wider sense, and Finland’s possibilities to develop its expertise in the field. President Martti Ahtisaari, Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen attended the meeting as well.

Peace building is a large-scale issue and therefore it is important to discuss it as a national level project among political parties with the support of specialist.

The meeting agreed that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will initiate the drafting of a strategy and an action plan for Finland’s peace mediation activities. It was also concluded that in the next Government Programme it would be appropriate to place stronger emphasis on peace mediation and peace building activities and on ways Finland could promote them.

Inquiries: Antti Vänskä, Special Adviser, International Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 9 1602 2068 or +358 40 513 1458