Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the informal meeting of the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Gymnich) in Zagreb on 5 March. The topics on the agenda are Turkey and Russia. In connection with the Gymnich meeting, an extraordinary Foreign Affairs Council will be held on 6 March to discuss the situation in Syria.

Dimitri Qvintus has been appointed to serve as Special Adviser to Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari, starting on Tuesday 3 March 2020.

Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov will visit Helsinki on 3 March.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Washington DC on 27–28 February.

On 25 February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will travel to Berlin to attend the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), hosted by the German Minister of Foreign Affairs. During the visit, Foreign Minister Haavisto will have a separate meeting with Germany’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas.

On Monday 24 February, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.

Minister Ville Skinnari will visit Tanzania on 23–25 February and Mozambique on 26–28 February. During the visit, the Minister will learn about Finland's development cooperation in the two countries and have meetings with their political leadership. The visit will also promote commercial cooperation between Finland and these countries.

The highest number of visas to Finland are applied for in Russia. Tourism from China and United Arab Emirates is also on the increase.

On 18 February, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit Stockholm to attend a meeting convened by Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Nordic Affairs Anna Hallberg. The meeting will discuss ways to promote trade and sustainable development. In addition to Minister Skinnari, representatives of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic are expected to attend the meeting.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will meet in Brussels on 17 February. Finland’s representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto. The topics on the agenda will be the EU’s relationship with the African Union and the situation in Libya. In connection with the meeting, Foreign Ministers will also meet the Indian Minister of External Affairs to discuss the preparations for the upcoming EU–India Summit.