Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb will participate in the European Council meeting to be held in Brussels on 16 September. At the level of Heads of State and Government, Finland will be represented by Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi.

On Tuesday, 14 September, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed Finland's participation in EU military crisis management through the deployment of a naval vessel to the EU NAVFOR Operation Atalanta conducted off the coast of Somalia and the adjacent maritime areas. Finland is preparing to participate in the operation with minelayer Pohjanmaa and a total of 120 soldiers during the first half of 2011.

Finland and Turkey will present a proposal for a resolution on peace mediation to the UN General Assembly. “I think it is high time to consider how the role of the UN could be strengthened in peace mediation. The UN is the supreme actor both in maintaining peace and stability and in peace-keeping. In peace mediation, too, the UN could have a stronger mandate,” Minister Stubb said at the Presidential Forum on 14 September.

Niko Nurminen (M.Soc.Sci., M.A. in Specialized Journalism) has been appointed to a fixed-term post as press secretary at the Consulate General of Finland in St Petersburg. Nurminen (38) will begin in St. Petersburg on 11 October. Before that, he will familiarize himself with the activities of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Helsinki.

Administrative branch appropriations for the Foreign Ministry amount to 1,257.4 million euros in the draft budget for 2011. The 2011 social impact objectives are in line with the Ministry's strategy.

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will take part in the Informal Meeting of Foreign Affairs Ministers (Gymnich) to be held in Brussels on 10–11 September.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council will meet in Brussels on 10 September. The main topic of the meeting is the European Union’s new international investment policy. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will attend the meeting for Finland.

Minister Väyrynen, who is making an export promotion trip to Petrozavodsk and Sortavala on 7–8 September, sees much investment potential for Finnish companies in the Karelian region. “The neighbouring area cooperation carried out now for 20 years has laid the foundation for good cooperation. In recent years, economic cooperation has been named a sector of priority, and this is promoted through many projects in various fields,

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will visit Georgia on 7–8 September. His agenda includes meetings with President Saakashvili, Prime Minister Gilauri, Foreign Minister Vashadze and Reintegration Minister Iakobashvili.

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will visit Åland on Tuesday, 7 September.