Foreign Ministry's press releases

Kostyantyn Gryschenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, will visit Finland on 29 August. He will meet with Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb. Foreign Minister Gryschenko will also attend the informal dinner of the Nordic and Baltic countries, the NB8.

The NB8 Foreign Ministers’ meeting, gathering together the Foreign Ministers of the Nordic and Baltic States, will take place in Helsinki on 30 August. Finland is the country coordinating NB8 cooperation in 2011.

On Thursday 25 August, the Government decided to propose to the President of the Republic the appointment of Mr Pekka Metso, Counsellor for Foreign Affairs, as Head of the Finnish Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia, as from 1 November 2011. The President of the Republic will decide about the appointment in the presidential session on 26 August.

Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala: The budget proposal presented by the Ministry of Finance is counter to the Government Programme

“Finland, Europe and the entire Western world must adapt to the rapid evolution of the global economy and international politics. Promotion of Finns’ interests now calls for more work than ever,

“We must begin adapting a new approach to advancing Finland’s economic interests,” Minister for European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb said at the Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Mission. Prime Minister has asked Minister Stubb to launch preparation of the action plan for economic external relations mentioned in the Government Programme. A working group led by Matti Alahuhta, President and CEO of KONE Corporation, will begin work to draw up the action plan.

The 2012 draft budget for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs administrative branch comes to a total of 1,394.2 million euros.

In opening the Annual Meeting of Finnish Heads of Mission in Helsinki on 22 August, Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja emphasised the continuity of foreign and security policy and global responsibility. In his view, citizens’ increased criticality is reflected in the Government’s EU policy, but “at the same time our commitment to the Union remains strong

The group of 20 young journalists invited to Finland by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will visit Rovaniemi on 22–23 August and Ruka-Kuusamo on 24–25 August.