Foreign Ministry's press releases

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Ambassador Nabil D.M. Alwazir signed an agreement on the status of the Palestinian mission in Helsinki on 4 September. The agreement grants the Palestinian mission and its staff the privileges and immunities laid down in the Vienna Convention regulating diplomatic relations.

H.E. Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser, the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), will visit Finland from 2 to 6 September. H.E. Ambassador Al-Nasser transferred to his current position at the beginning of 2013 from the position of the President of the Sixty-Sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Prior to that, he had served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate in the meeting of the NB8 foreign ministers, hosted by Sweden, with other Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers in Visby on 2-3 September.

On Friday 30 August, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic.

Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala will meet President of the African Development Bank Group Donald Kaberuka on Friday 30 August.

Ambassador Pertti Majanen was elected to chair the United Nations Sustainable Development Financing Committee on 28 August in New York.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia Urmas Paet will visit Finland on 30 August at the invitation of Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Susanna Niinivaara as Press Officer at the Finnish Consulate General in St. Petersburg for a three-year term starting 1 October.

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb gave a speech today August 26 at the Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Mission in Helsinki. He emphasised three main points: Finland must continue to pursue reforms in order to maintain its competitiveness; European welfare cannot be created by means of directives; and the next few years will see a period of moderate integration.

A responsible and human rights-based foreign policy also serves Finland’s interests, Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala stressed on 26 August when addressing the Finnish ambassadors convened in Helsinki.