Foreign Minister Stubb attends the Nordic and Baltic Foreign Ministers' meeting in Latvia

Press Release 239/2010
26 August 2010

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb attends the Nordic and Baltic Foreign Ministers' NB8 meeting on 26-27 August in Riga, Latvia. The main discussion topic is the future of Nordic-Baltic cooperation on the basis of a report and recommendations by the group of wise men. The group was established by Valdis Birkavs, the Latvian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in the 1990's, and Søren Gade, Minister of Defence of Denmark in the 2000s. The group of wise men drafted a concise report over the summer, including several hands-on recommendations for Nordic-Baltic approximation in different sectors. The report will be published soon after the Riga meeting.

Other topics for the ministerial meeting include the situation in Afghanistan after the Kabul Conference in July, preparations for the forthcoming OSCE summit, and the implications of Nato's new Strategic Concept for the Nato member states and partner countries.

Ministerial meetings of the NB8 group have become a tradition; the group has had late summer meetings since 1993. Last year, the group convened in Reykjavik and the 2011 meeting will be held in Finland. Next year will mark the 20 years of Baltic reindependence.

Further information: Mikko Hautala, Advisor to the Foreign Minister, tel. +358 40 834 6758, Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Press Attaché to the Minister, tel. +358 40 732 8340, and Ari Tasanen, Counsellor, Department for Europe, tel. +358 9 1605 5630 and +358 50 367 2187