Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen considers Southern China a major locomotive for both the Chinese economy and the global economy, and sees it as an area with great potential for Finnish companies. Minister Väyrynen expressed his views after having visited Hong Kong and Shenzhen on 11–13 October.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb will travel to the Middle East on 9–14 October as a member of the official delegation led by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen and Dr. Pentti Arajärvi. The programme includes official visits to Jordan and to the occupied Palestinian Territories and a State visit to Israel.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will visit China from 11 to 16 October to promote Finnish exports and internationalization. The Minister’s itinerary encompasses the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Foreign Minister Luis Almagro of Uruguay will be visiting Finland on 6–9 October. He will be accompanied by Uruguay’s Minister of Housing, Land Use, and Environment and Deputy Minister of Education and Culture, and also by a business delegation that includes representatives of companies from sectors such as the forest industry, information technology, logistics, environmental technology, construction, banking and insurance.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs to reform Finland’s diplomatic missions network. The changes are part of the Ministry’s long-range plan for development of the diplomatic missions network, the aim being to focus the network’s resources on countries and regions whose importance is growing from Finland’s perspective.

Foreign Minister Gordan Jandrokovic of Croatia is visiting Finland on 4–5 October at the invitation of Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.

Finland is opening a diplomatic Liaison Office in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. The new Liaison Office starts its operation on 1 October 2010. Administratively under the Embassy of Finland in Vilnius, the one-person Liaison Office will be run by Counsellor Ilkka Räisänen.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen stresses each country’s own responsibility for its food security and agricultural development. The Minister believes that agriculture and agricultural policy play a key role in reducing poverty and hunger, and development policy must invest considerably more in them.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will have arthroscopy of the left shoulder on Friday, 1 October. The minister injured his shoulder last winter when shovelling snow.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will participate in laying the foundation stone for a shopping mall being constructed in St. Petersburg by the Finnish construction company SRV Group Plc. The ceremony to lay the foundation stone will take place on Thursday, 30 September.