Foreign Ministry's press releases

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb visited Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan yesterday, 10 June. During his trip to Northern Afghanistan, he met with Finnish peacekeepers in the ISAF operation and commanders of ISAR Regional Command North. Foreign Minister Stubb stayed overnight in the peacekeepers' camp and continued his trip to the Armenian capital Yerevan by plane this morning.

The Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union will convene in Luxembourg on 14 June. The main topics on the agenda for the Foreign Ministers’ meeting are the situation in Gaza and Iran’s nuclear programme. The UN Millennium Development Goals and gender equality are the main items of discussion at the Development Ministers’ meeting. Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will represent Finland at the meeting.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Jouni Mölsä to the post of Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in London and Mikko Koivumaa to the post of Press Counsellor at the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo.

Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, will visit Finland on 8–9 June, at the invitation of President of the Republic Tarja Halonen.

On 4 June, the Cabinet Committee on European Union Affairs adopted the proposal for Finland’s strategy for the Arctic region which was presented to the Committee by a working group appointed by the Prime Minister’s Office. Arctic policy issues have risen to the centre of attention in international politics in recent years because of the climate change. Finland was the seventh of the eight Member States of the Arctic Council to publish its own Arctic strategy.

On Friday 4 June, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed Finland's potential participation in the EU-led Atalanta crisis management operation off the Somali coast.

The security cluster based on the Wider Europe Initiative and the Development Policy Framework Programme for the Western Balkans has launched its research activities on Security and Development.

Finland will host a Senior Mission Leaders (SML) training course for UN integrated peacekeeping missions, to take place in Helsinki on 7–18 June. The opportunity to host this esteemed and sought-after course is recognition for Finland’s long-term commitment and contribution to UN crisis management and the country’s competence in training for military and civilian crisis management.

UN Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Cyprus, Alexander Downer will visit Finland on 7-8 June. He will meet with Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb. Their agenda will include the Cyprus reunification talks.

Israel's Ambassador to Finland Avi Granot was summoned on 1 June to the Foreign Ministry to render his account on the serious incident that took place in the Mediterranean Sea on 31 May.