Foreign Ministry's press releases

In his speech at the Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Mission on 26 August, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja took a stand on the current debate about cyber security. “The development of new technology in the digital age and recent information that has come to light concerning its use for spying have highlighted the need to take effective measures to prevent infringement of both private and government data protection. This is anything but easy as concerns technology, law and morality.”

Secretary of State at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pertti Torstila is keen to emphasise that the future efficacy of Finnish foreign policy will continue to depend on the country having a wide network of foreign missions. Mr. Torstila says the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is fully committed to the Government’s ongoing savings drive, at the same time as it is facing growing expectations of service delivery.

Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs of Latvia will be the keynote speaker at the Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Mission in Helsinki on 26 August. Minister Rinkēvičs will speak at the Annual Meeting in place of Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota of Brazil, whose visit to Finland is cancelled owing to his other duties.

The visit to Finland by Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota of Brazil is cancelled owing to his other duties. The envisaged agenda for Minister Patriota’s visit on 25–26 August included bilateral meetings and the delivery of a speech at the Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Mission organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will hold its Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Mission in Helsinki from 26 to 28 August. Some of the speeches will be broadcast live on the Ministry’s website http://formin.finland.fi. The meeting can also be followed on Twitter at #slsk13 and on the Facebook pages www.facebook.com/ulkoministerio.

At its session held today 23 August 2013, the Government issued a resolution on Finland’s new strategy for the Arctic region.

The President of the Republic decided on Friday, 23 August 2013 that Finland will participate in the UN’s Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The Finnish contribution will be limited to a maximum of five military personnel.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota will arrive in Finland on official visit on Sunday 25 August. The visit will be hosted by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. The purpose of the visit is to strengthen the political and economic relations between Finland and Brazil and to discuss topical international issues.

The EU Foreign Ministers will convene for an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, 21 August. The meeting is held owing to recent events in Egypt.

The Political and Security Committee (PSC) of the European Union discussed support for Egypt on 19 August.