Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Toivakka travels to the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg
Press release 232/2015
23 October 2015
EU development ministers will gather for a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 26 October. Finland's representative in the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka.
The agenda highlights will be migration and development issues, the EU's preparation for the first World Humanitarian Summit, the Commission's gender action plan (GAP), as well as the future of the relations between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) in view of the expiry of the Cotonou agreement in 2020. Ministers for development and the environment will meet over lunch to discuss the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its environmental dimension.
"International and cross-sectoral cooperation is needed to control the European migratory and refugee situation. The root causes of forced displacement must be addressed through development cooperation and humanitarian aid. In the long term, it is essential that the developing countries are supported in ways that help people find a living in their home region or in their neighbouring areas," Minister Toivakka says.
Finland has consistently raised its development financing to improve the resilience of, for example, Syria and its neighbouring areas. Finland will further increase its support to the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) regional resilience programme, the EU Regional Trust Fund (Madad Fund), and the Syria Recovery Trust Fund during the end of 2015. Finland will also support the EU Emergency Trust Fund, which aims to address the root causes of forced displacement in Africa.
The World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23–24 May 2016. From Finland's perspective, the key themes in the Summit agenda are efforts to build communities' resilience, to increase local actors' capacity, to support women's and girls' empowerment in addressing crises, and to find new ways to respond to financing needs.
Inquiries: Juha Kirstilä, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 40 552 8200 and Sari Lehtiranta, Director for Unit for General Development Policy, tel. +358 295 352 139.