Foreign Ministry's press releases

On 7 May, the Government appointed Elina Ravantti as Director General of Communications at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She will take up her duties on 15 June 2020 and the term of office will end on 28 February 2025. Ravantti is currently Head of Yle Journalism Academy.

Finland will make the Elements of AI online course available to EU citizens in 2020–2021. The objective is to train one per cent of EU citizens in the basics of artificial intelligence, thereby strengthening digital competence within the EU. The course will be published first in Latvia on 6 May 2020.

EU foreign ministers will hold an informal video conference on Wednesday 22 April. Finland will be represented by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The main topics on the agenda will be Ukraine and the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood countries. Additionally, ministers will continue discussion on the coronavirus situation.

In an analysis published on Tuesday 21 April 2020, the Development Policy Committee estimates that coronavirus affects the most vulnerable people in the world and can lead to record levels in the need for humanitarian assistance. The Development Policy Committee is an advisory body representing the parliamentary parties and society at large.

Finland will invest EUR 20 million in the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Ventures Investment Fund 1. The investment will be made from the appropriation for development policy investments.

Finland contributed EUR 1,006 million to development cooperation and, calculated as a proportion of gross national income (GNI), was the ninth largest donor among the EU Member States, representing the EU average. In relation to the previous year, Finland’s development cooperation expenditure rose in real terms by 18.2 per cent, which is more than in any other Member of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will participate in EU trade ministers’ informal videoconference on 16 April 2020.

Finland provides humanitarian assistance to help organisations in the field to respond to changing and abrupt needs more efficiently. Preventing the spread of coronavirus requires support and timely action also in refugee camps and crisis areas.

On 8 April, EU development ministers discussed the EU’s common response to the global impacts of coronavirus. At the meeting, Minister for International Development Ville Skinnari told about Finland’s first-hand measures.

On 8 April 2020, the Government re-appointed the Advisory Board for International Human Rights, operating under the administration of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Its task is to follow international human rights questions and to issue statements on related matters that are of fundamental importance.