Foreign Ministry's press releases

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja opened the sherpa conference preparing for next year’s Nuclear Security Summit, to be held in Seoul. This preparatory conference takes place in Helsinki and begins on 4 October. The summit will be held on 26–27 March 2012.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja will visit Paris on 26–27 September, where he will meet with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppé. In addition, he will deliver a talk at a luncheon seminar organised by the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique (FRS).

The Palestinian issue and other topical international political issues were the most prominent topics of Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja’s meetings during the UN General Assembly's opening week. Matters pertaining to the Middle East and North Africa were discussed during bilateral meetings, during the EU foreign ministers’ meetings with Russia and the United States and during the meeting of Nordic foreign ministers hosted by Minister Tuomioja.

Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb will visit the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Tuesday 27 September. The aim of the visit is to meet leaders of the European Parliament and of the key political groups and Members of European Parliament across country and party divides and to discuss questions that are important for Finland.

Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, together with the President of the Republic, attended the High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security convened by the UN Secretary General in New York on 22 September.In his statement, Foreign Minister Tuomioja stressed that the tragic accident in Fukushima emphasises the importance of improving both nuclear safety culture and international regulation.

The European Union's Foreign Affairs Council (trade ministers) will convene in Brussels on Monday 26 September. Finland's representative in the meeting will be Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb.

Finland took part in dialogue with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Professor James Anaya of the United States, in Geneva on Tuesday, 20 September. The Finnish delegation also includes a representative of the Finnish Sami Parliament, as an expert.

President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja attended the Friends of Libya meeting held in New York on 20 September. Convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the meeting was attended by 80 countries. The meeting pledged strong commitment for supporting Libya as the country strives towards a stable and democratic society.

Foreign Minister Tuomioja and Foreign Minister Davutoğlu of Turkey are jointly hosting the ministerial level Friends of Mediation meeting in New York, to be held on 20 September during the Opening Week of the UN General Assembly. During the meeting, the ministers and the UN and regional organisation representatives will exchange topical experiences of mediation activities. The purpose is to provide the UN Secretary General with guidelines for increasingly effective mediation.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala will attend the opening week of the 66th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on 19–23 September. The Finnish delegation, led by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen, also includes Minister of Finance Jutta Urpilainen and Minister of Health and Social Services Maria Guzenina-Richardson.