Foreign Ministry's press releases

Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers Dagfinn Høybråten will visit Finland on 20 August. The Secretary General's visit will be hosted by Minister Anne Berner, who is responsible for matters related to Nordic cooperation.

On 17 August, Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini appointed Member of Parliament Pekka Haavisto to serve as his Special Representative on mediation with special focus on Africa.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ 2016 budget proposal for its administrative branch totals EUR 1,003 million. As a part of the new consolidation measures in public finances, development cooperation appropriations will be cut by EUR 201 million in accordance with the Government Programme.

During the three-week programme, a group of young international journalists will have an opportunity to learn more about Finland, Finnish society and the Finnish way of life. The programme is an important part of the Foreign Ministry's work in the field of public diplomacy.

The President of the Republic decided on Friday 7 August on Finland's participation in the EU's military crisis management operation (EUNAVFOR MED) in the Mediterranean Sea. The operation that started in June is aimed at preventing human smuggling in accordance with international law.

The European Union and Vietnam reached political agreement on a free trade agreement on 4 August. The technical details of the agreement will be finalised by the end of year.

The Hiroshima Day on August 6 commemorates the victims of atomic bombings. A nuclear weapon was used exactly 70 years ago in Hiroshima and three days later in Nagasaki. The Hiroshima Day reminds of the destruction and suffering caused by the nuclear weapons and of the progress needed in nuclear disarmament. A memorial ceremony organised in Japan will commemorate the victims. Finland will be represented by Ambassador Manu Virtamo.

Kazakhstan's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was brought to a conclusion on 27 July 2015. Finland held the chairmanship of Kazakhstan's WTO accession process during its entire twenty-year history.

On 24 July 2015, an understanding on an additional list of products to be covered by the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) was reached in the multilateral negotiations held in Geneva on the expansion of the ITA.

The EU Foreign Ministers will convene at a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Monday, 20 July. Finland's representative in the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.