Foreign policy leadership assemble in Helsinki
Press release 197/2011
18 August 2011
The Annual Meeting of Heads of Missions held by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be opened on Monday, 22 August, and Ministers Erkki Tuomioja, Alexander Stubb and Heidi Hautala will each deliver a policy address then. The programme also includes speeches by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen, Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Minister of Finance Jutta Urpilainen. The foreign keynote speaker at the meeting will be Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland.
During the week nearly one hundred heads of diplomatic missions will gather to discuss the theme “Finland in a world of mutual dependence”. Finland’s coping will be explored from the angles of the international economy, foreign and security policy and development policy. The objective is to examine and sharpen the proactivity of the foreign service in a world beset by economic crisis and stiffening international competition. Consular services will also be taken up.
The traditional reception hosted by the Ministers will take place on Tuesday, 23 August. More than one thousand people are expected to attend the reception for invited guests.
The citizens’ event to be held at Martti Ahtisaari Square, in the courtyard of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, will offer an opportunity to meet heads of diplomatic missions and to become acquainted with the activities of the Ministry’s departments. Ministers Tuomioja, Stubb and Hautala will also present their own greetings. Journalist Arto Nyberg will be the presenter at the event.
News items about both the Annual Meeting of Heads of Missions and the citizens’ event will be published on the website of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, at http://formin.finland.fi(Link to another website.). Webcasts of the speeches given by the Ministers and the President of the Republic will be posted, too. The citizens’ event can also be followed on the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Facebook and Twitter pages: http://www.facebook.com/ulkoministerio(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) and http://twitter.com/#!/ulkoministerio(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Additional information: Adviser Sami Pirkkala, tel. +358 9 1605 6039, and Director of Communications Keijo Norvanto, tel. +358 9 1605 5836