Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen has granted 300,000 euros in assistance to the CARICOM Development Fund. Support to the development fund is part of Finland’s growing development cooperation in the Caribbean.

Diplomatic relations established between Finland and Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen has granted the sum of seven million euros for establishment of the Dar es Salaam Institute for Sustainable Development in Tanzania. The Cabinet Finance Committee approved the appropriation in its session on 23 September. The funding now granted will be disbursed during the years 2009–2012.

Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb will travel to New York for the opening week of the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly on 22–26 September. Stubb will act as the vice-chairman of the Finnish delegation to the General Assembly, which will be led by President of the Republic Tarja Halonen.

The study on Finland’s representation abroad carried out by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs examines how the services offered by the missions correspond to the expectations of the authorities, citizens and business life. During this autumn, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will evaluate the tasks of all missions with a view to improving their mutual comparability.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will make an export promotion visit to Investment Forum Sochi in Sochi, situated in Krasnodar Krai region of Russia, on 17-19 September. The Minister will be accompanied by a business delegation of 25 people.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will meet OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Chair Eckhard Deutscher in Helsinki on 16 September.

On 17 and 18 September, Minister of Migration and European Affairs Astrid Thors will visit Stockholm where she will attend a ministerial conference on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region organised by the Swedish Presidency.

Dr. Len Ishmael, Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), is visiting Finland hosted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on 14-15 September.

Russia has a central position and an important role in issues pertaining to Baltic Sea transports and logistics. Positive development in Russia, starting from economic development and growth of trade and extending to cooperation preparedness on border crossings, transport corridors and broader issues pertaining to logistics, has brought significant benefits to Finland, Russia’s other neighbouring countries and the Baltic Sea sphere more widely.