Foreign Ministry's press releases

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed Ambassador Antti Turunen to be the new UN Representative for Georgia.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ilir Meta of Albania will visit Finland on 1–3 March at the initiation of Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb.

The Government has today, Thursday 25 February, granted 19.5 million euros for projects in neighbouring areas in 2010. Neighbouring area cooperation in Northwest Russia focuses on strengthening economic cooperation.

Finland, as a partner country of the Partnership for Peace, will participate in the NATO CMX 2009 Crisis Management Exercise on 4–10 March. The exercise is designed to practise crisis management procedures, including planning and consultations between NATO and its partner countries, as well as cooperation at the national level. Decision-making will be practised in the execution phase, i.e. in situations where an imaginary NATO-led operation is already in progress.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen has decided today, 24 February, for the third time to grant assistance from humanitarian aid funds to the earthquake victims in Haiti. The 400,000 euros now granted in assistance is directed at the agricultural sector through FAO, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The aim is to promote Haiti’s own food security, support rural employment and revitalise agriculture in Haiti.

On Friday, 19 February, the President of the Republic and the Cabinet Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed the national counter-terrorism strategy. The strategy has been drafted by a broad-based working group represented by ministries and central agencies carrying out the duty of combating and preventing terrorism.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will attend the Informal Meeting of EU Trade Ministers to be held in Brussels on Sunday, 21 February.

The Foreign Affairs Council of the EU will meet in Brussels on 22 February. The main topics of the meeting are the humanitarian crisis in Haiti and the situation in Ukraine following the presidential election. Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will represent Finland at the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen stressed the wide possibilities offered by transatlantic development partnership in his address at the Informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers held in Spain on 18 February.

The Prime Minister’s Office has appointed a working group to prepare a report on Finland’s policy for the Arctic region. The report is to be submitted to Parliament during the spring session. Parliament has required that guidelines concerning Finland’s policy for the Arctic region be drawn up.