Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb to attend the Afghanistan conference in Paris

Press release 212/2008
June 10, 2008

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will attend the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan to be held in Paris on Thursday, 12 June 2008, the aim of which is to bolster donor countries’ long-range commitment to reconstruction of Afghanistan. The conference is co-chaired by Afghanistan, France and the United Nations. In all, 67 countries and 20 international organisations will participate.

Finland supports the reconstruction of Afghanistan by means of development cooperation, civilian crisis management and military crisis management. The focal points of Finland’s development aid are support for good governance and human rights, and combating the production of drugs. The focal point of civilian crisis management in Afghanistan is reform of the security sector.

Additional information: Tanja Jääskeläinen, Advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 522 3786; Juha Kirstilä, Press Attaché to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, mobile tel. +358 40 552 8200; and First Secretary Christian Heikkinen, tel. +358 9 160 55517