Foreign Ministry's press releases

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will attend the informal Gymnich meeting of EU Foreign Ministers in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 9–10 March.

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb is scheduled to visit the United States on 11-16 March. The visit will take place in Washington, New York and Silicon Valley in California. The purpose of the trip is to provide increased exposure to Finnish start-up companies and to help them to establish contact with key clients and financial institutions. At the same time the trip will increase awareness of Finland as a European hub of start-up companies.

The second cycle of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process will begin this year. Finland will be among the first states to be reviewed in May 2012. Finland submitted its national report to the Council on 5 March.

Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, will visit Finland from 5 to 6 March at the invitation of Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.

By decision of Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has granted humanitarian aid appropriations totalling 67.6 million euros to people suffering from the world’s crises. Finland directs humanitarian assistance to Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean.

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb will deliver an address at a seminar on the economic relationship between Estonia and Finland in Tallinn on 2 March. Minister Stubb’s speech is titled “Finland, Estonia, Europe and the World Economy – Overcoming the Crisis”.

Today, on 28 February, Finland signed a new Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child containing provisions on a complaints and investigation procedure. The Protocol is a landmark step for strengthening the implementation of children’s rights. Finland was part of the ‘Core Group of States’ consisting of ten states, working across geographical and regional boundaries, that campaigned for the adoption of the Protocol.

The second session of the Foreign Affairs Council in 2012 will convene in Brussels on Monday 27 February. Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will represent Finland in the session. The Council will discuss Syria, the Middle East Peace Process, South Caucasus, Egypt and Serbia and Kosovo.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja took part in the Mediation Conference in Istanbul on 24–25 February. Tuomioja addressed the high-level session of the Conference on Saturday 25 February. He emphasised the importance of mediation activities in conflict prevention, the promoting of a stronger culture of cooperation in mediation efforts, and women’s participation in mediation.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will participate in the ‘Friends of Syria’ group conference to be held in Tunisia on Friday 24 February. The purpose of the meeting is to show broad support for the Arab League initiative for solving the situation in Syria. All EU countries, for example, will attend this meeting hosted by the Tunisian Government, most of them at the ministerial level.