Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen raised the Nordic forest management practices and principles of sustainable forestry to the fore during his keynote address at the international conference “Russian Wood and Timber 2011” in Moscow on 12 April. Minister Väyrynen was the invited keynote speaker at the conference, which is the year’s most important forest sector event in Russia.

The European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Luxembourg on 12 April to discuss the situation in the Southern Neighbourhood and in Libya in particular. Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will be representing Finland at the meeting.

Voters who were unable to cast their vote owing to the lack of ballot slips in Berlin will have the opportunity to vote on Monday, 11 April at the Finnish Embassy.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen has granted EUR 1.5 million in humanitarian assistance to people suffering from the crisis in Libya. The aid is channelled through the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Each organisation is granted 500,000 euros.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb is to visit Washington DC on April 11 at the invitation of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Discussions will focus on the North Africa situation, Afghanistan, Russia and European security issues.

On Tuesday, 5 April, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed the situation in Libya and the measures taken by the international community.

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb and President Martti Ahtisaari published the content of the Ahtisaari Days at the press conference held on Monday, 4 April. The Days will consist of three separate parts, including a gathering of international experts, an event for the public, and happenings to be held in schools. The first part of the Ahtisaari Days will be the 10th anniversary seminar of the Crisis Management Initiative organisation, to be held on 19 April.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Facebook page provides an opportunity to discuss topical affairs with the Ministry. The purpose of the Facebook page is to make affairs of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ administrative sector easier to approach for people. In other areas of Foreign Service, tools of social media have been introduced earlier.

The Finnish Embassy in Tokyo will be reopened as from 30 March.

Diplomatic relations were established between Finland and the Republic of Kiribati on 25 March.