Foreign Ministry's press releases

The informal “Lapland Retreat” Foreign Ministers’ meeting, to which Foreign Minister Stubb had invited foreign ministers in Saariselkä on 18–20 March, has been cancelled, owing to the prevailing international situation.

In years to come, in its development policy, Finland must pay special attention to enhancing the living conditions and position of young people in developing countries. The priority must be in education and employment of young people, decent work, and support of the most vulnerable population groups, the Development Policy Committee highlights in its annual review, issued on 15 March.

“Finnish companies have good opportunities to take part in Russia’s projects for modernization of the country’s infrastructure and economy,” Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen states. Väyrynen and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov signed a declaration on a modernization partnership between Finland and Russia at the meeting of the Finnish–Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation held in St. Petersburg on 14 March.

The Government’s Heads of Preparedness convened at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs to discuss the state administration’s response to the natural disaster in Japan. The Embassy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs are providing regular updates through their websites, Facebook and Twitter.

Due to the massive earthquake in Japan, the other coastal states of the Pacific Ocean are watching closely the tsunami situation. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has been in contact with its own missions in the region and the Association of Finnish Travel Agents. The general guideline is that especially those living or spending a holiday in coastal regions need to follow the instructions given by local authorities and the local media.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Embassy in Tokyo are following the situation after the massive earthquake in Japan. People can contact the Ministry for Foreign Affairs telephone number in Finland 0800-0-4444 to inquire about their relatives. In Japan the telephone communications are overloaded and text messaging operates only sporadically. Therefore, Finns living in Japan are also asked to primarily call the contact number +358 800-0-4444.

The 12th meeting of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will be organised in St. Petersburg on 14 March.

The successful export promotion visit of Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen to Argentina is leading to closer cooperation between the governments of Argentina and Finland and enhancement of trade and economic relations. “Argentina is one of the most significant states in Latin America and it is important that also the Finnish business sector on a broad front can cooperate with the country,” Väyrynen underlined.

Foreign Minister Stubb to attend informal meetings of EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels and Gödöllö, Hungary

On Tuesday, 8 March, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed Finland’s overall web security preparedness.