Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Väyrynen to travel to Bali

Press release 270/2007
4 December 2007

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will represent Finland in an informal climate change meeting of trade ministers, hosted by Indonesia. The meeting will be organised in Bali on 8–9 December in connection with the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The purpose of the meeting is to engage in open dialogue and exchange of views on climate change and trade issues at a high level. The starting point is that trade policy can contribute to global action against climate change. The delegates will discuss, for instance, the links between climate change, trade and sustainable development that could benefit all parties, the developing countries in particular.

The meeting will be chaired by the host country’s Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu. According to preliminary information, the meeting will be attended by almost 30 representatives of ministerial or deputy ministerial level. Other parties invited to the meeting include representatives of NGOs and the world of science and research, as well as global key player, such as the European Commission, UN agencies, and representatives of the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation, WTO.

Conclusions made during the discussions will also be presented to the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change on 12 December. This way trade ministers can also contribute to the solution of the challenges the Bali Climate Change Conference is facing.

In addition to Minister Väyrynen, Finland will also be represented in the meeting by Pekka Huhtaniemi, Under-Secretary of State for External Economic Relations at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Additional information: Special Adviser to the Minister Ossi Martikainen, tel. +358 40 592 6769, and Press Attaché for the Minister Pirjo-Liisa Heikkilä, tel. +358 (0)9 1605 5356