Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend an informal ministerial gathering of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which will be held in Slovakia’s High Tatras on 9 July. The main theme of the meeting will be conflict prevention. Ministers will discuss opportunities to promote stability and security in the OSCE region.

On 4 July 2019, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Western Balkans Summit to be held in Poznań, Poland. The main topics will be regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and strengthening the EU perspective.

“With several trade disputes going on, it is even more important than before to defend the multilateral rules-based trading system. Poor developing countries are the biggest losers in the face of growing protectionism,” stressed Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari in his statement at a World Trade Organization meeting in Geneva on Wednesday on 3 July.

Finland will celebrate the opening of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union with a free summer party in Töölönlahti Park on 8 July. Europe Information of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister’s Office, the European Commission and the European Parliament invite all comers to enjoy a summer day of informal EU-themed events in Kansalaistori (Citizen’s Square).

The EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was signed in Hanoi on 30 June 2019. The agreement is expected to enter into force in early 2020. It is the most ambitious and comprehensive agreement ever concluded by the EU with a developing country. The FTA opens up new market access and business opportunities also for Finnish companies.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Ukraine Reform Conference, to be held in Toronto on 1–2 July. The conference will take stock of the implementation of the existing reforms and reinforce international support for Ukraine.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend a high-level Climate Meeting in Abu Dhabi on 31 June–1 July 2019.

The Finns consider that the key themes during Finland’s upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union should be the position of women and girls, and climate action. Education is considered the area where Finland can contribute the most in its own development cooperation activities. The results are based on a survey carried out for the Foreign Ministry by Taloustutkimus.

Angola’s Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technologies José Carvalho da Rocha will visit Finland on 25–27 June.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Austria’s Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Alexander Schallenberg in Helsinki on 24 June.