Foreign Ministry's press releases

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala are visiting the region of the Horn of Africa. Pekka Haavisto, the Foreign Minister’s Special Representative, is also a participant on the trip.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja visited Yemen on 31 March in association with his broader itinerary to the region of the Horn of Africa.

On 27 March, Finland and Russia made a decision on closer border cooperation in the 13th joint meeting of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation.

Antti Hartikainen, Director General of Finnish Customs, has been appointed to lead the Civilian CSDP Mission on Border Security in Libya.

Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb host an informal meeting, Lapland Retreat 2013, on 22–24 March in Saariselkä, Lapland. Informal discussions focus on the future challenges of Europe.

The thirteenth joint meeting of the Finnish–Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will take place in Turku on 27 March. Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak of Russia will chair the meeting.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate in the informal meeting of EU ministers of foreign affairs (Gymnich) to be held in Dublin on 22−23 March.

Press release by the Foreign Ministers of Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan, Kenya and the United Kingdom New York 18 March 2013

By decision taken by Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala on 15 March, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted its humanitarian assistance funds for the first part of the year, totalling EUR 39.8 million, to people suffering from the world’s crises.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will take part in the UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty to be held in New York from 18 to 28 March. The purpose of the Conference is to conclude a comprehensive and legally binding Arms Trade Treaty. The Conference follows the first Conference of last July, which ended without reaching an agreement.