Foreign Ministry's press releases

On Thursday 14 June, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed Finland's participation in the EU-led ATALANTA operation off the Somali coast.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ambassador Heidi Schroderus-Fox, a Finn, as director of the office of UN-OHRLLS, the United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States. This is currently Finland’s highest post at the UN headquarters in New York.

President Tarja Halonen will participate in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 14–21 June. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited her to join him to present the report prepared by the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability on 21 June.

The Executive Directorate of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTED) is making an expert assessment visit to Finland on 7 and 8 June.

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb will attend the World Economic Forum on cooperation between Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Eurasia in Istanbul, Turkey on 5-6 June.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will visit Oulu on 5 June. Minister Tuomioja will speak in the Finnish-Russian Arctic Partnership Seminar at the city hall.

Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala will visit Benin on 3–5 June. The 11th Nordic–African Foreign Ministers Meeting will be held in Cotonou, the capital of Benin. This time the meeting will have three main themes: The Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the infrastructure of Africa and energy challenges, as well as peace and security. Minister Hautala will to travel to the meeting from Tanzania, where she is currently visiting.

The Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union, in the composition of Trade Ministers, will meet in Brussels on 31 May. Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb will attend the meeting for Finland.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs will organise a seminar on challenges of the UN peace keeping operations on 31 May - 2 June in Helsinki for the New York-based UN Ambassadors of 28 countries. The seminar is organised in cooperation with the New York University Center of International Cooperation, CIC. CIC is a leading analyst of the UN peacekeeping activities.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will visit Berlin on 31 May - 1 June. Minister Tuomioja will attend the annual meeting of the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank and a panel discussion on Iran.