Foreign Ministry's press releases

Finland is participating as a founding member in a new programme of the International Labour Organisation ILO, whose goal is to help developing countries improve their working conditions and to reduce their risk of accidents and occupational illnesses.

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Lenita Toivakka will make a three-day export promotion trip to Germany from 25 to 27 November. The purpose of the trip is to promote the exports and internationalization of Finnish companies and to market Finnish expertise and potential in Germany in the music industry as well as in the marine and engineering industries, logistics and the energy efficiency sector.

The high-level Pledging Conference of the Green Climate Fund that ended in Berlin on 20 November yielded the considerable sum of 9.3 billion US dollars, or approximately 7.4 billion euros, in funding commitments for the years 2015–2018. The Fund’s objective is, in an equitable manner, to support the measures taken by developing countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Lenita Toivakka will participate in the European Union Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Friday, 21 November.

Foreign Minister Keit Pentus-Rosimannus of Estonia will visit Finland on 21 November 2014 and will meet Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

Tekes and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will launch the five-year BEAM – Business with Impact programme at the start of next year. The aim is to bring together actors from Finland and developing countries to generate new innovative business and development impacts in target countries. The programme was announced on 18 November at the Slush event in Helsinki.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has on 18 November 2014 delivered a judgment in which no violation of Article 3 or Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights was found.

The world has 1.8 billion young people, nine out of ten of them living in less developed countries. By investing in the education, health and rights of young people, developing countries have excellent possibilities for increasing economic growth and well-being, the new United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report states.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja is visiting Turkey on 17–19 November 2014. The 90th anniversary of the signing of the Friendship Agreement between Finland and Turkey occurs on 9 December this year. During his visit Tuomioja, together with President Martti Ahtisaari, takes part in, and will be a speaker at, the celebratory seminar organized in honour of the anniversary.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja will attend the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union on 17 November. The main topic of the meeting, to be held in Brussels, is the situation in Ukraine. Other topics on the agenda are the Middle East Peace Process, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ebola and Libya.