Foreign Ministry's press releases

Foreign Minister Girts Valdis Kristovskis of Latvia is visiting Helsinki on 19–20 January at the invitation of Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are among the biggest markets for the Finnish technology industry. Between 14 and 20 January, Minister Väyrynen made a visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait accompanied by a large business delegation. The purpose of the visit was to promote bilateral trade with the countries in question. In the United Arab Emirates, Minister Väyrynen also participated in the World Future Energy Summit, a conference on renewable energy.

Foreign Minister Mikuláš Dzurinda of Slovakia will visit Helsinki on Tuesday, 18 January at the invitation of Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb. The foreign ministers will have bilateral talks. During his visit, Foreign Minister Dzurinda will also meet with Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will go on an export promotion trip to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait on 14–20 January. The Minister will be accompanied by a business delegation of more than 40 people representing the IT, construction, logistics, metal engineering, education and industrial sectors.

The newest issue of Focus on the Economy and Technology, a magazine created for key audiences in Finland’s major export markets, presents the country’s strong points to the world in articles about water expertise, education, energy, design and more. The same central themes were emphasised in Finland’s country brand report in November.

Sergei Martynov, Foreign Minister of Belarus, is visiting Finland today, 11 January. He has met with Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb. Foreign Minister Stubb conveyed Finland’s serious concern about the post-election violence to his colleague, and strongly condemned the use of force. Finland, like the rest of the EU, calls on Belarus to take rapid measures to improve the situation.

In 2010, Finland’s diplomatic missions granted a record-high number – more than one million – Schengen visas, i.e. visas to enter a Schengen area country for a short stay. Last year the diplomatic missions processed a total of 1,020,400 visa applications and 1,008,829 applicants were granted a visa. In all, 795,936 applications were processed in 2009, so the increase on the previous year came to 28 per cent.

The Consulate General of Finland in St. Petersburg awarded a prize this afternoon to the one-millionth person to apply this year for a visa to Finland. The historic visa application was submitted for processing just before Christmas by Irina Lebedeva, a medical researcher from St. Petersburg.

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia have paid tribute to the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and Russia via correspondence. Diplomatic relations were established on 31 December 1920, when the Finnish delegation exchanged instruments of ratification for the Treaty of Tartu with representatives of Russia in Moscow. Foreign Minister Stubb has also issued a New Year greeting in Russian.

On Wednesday, 29 December, Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb will have served 1 000 days as a minister. Stubb took up his position as Foreign Minister in Prime Minister Vanhanen’s second Government on 4 April 2008.