Foreign Ministry's press releases

In his address to the personnel of the Foreign Ministry's Department for Development Policy on 7 March, Minister for Foreign Affairs Soini said that Europe should now adopt a new approach in its policy on Africa. Minister Soini's speech was held by Permanent State Secretary Matti Anttonen.

Every year the Communications Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs organises tens of visits for foreign media and decision-makers. The visits are part of the long-term work on communications and Finland’s country image. They help to strengthen Finland’s political, economic and cultural impact, promote trade and economic relations, and brighten our country image. Visits are organised in close cooperation with other promotion organisations. Key partners include Finnfacts and the City of Helsinki.

Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Holmes Trujillo will visit Finland on 3–5 March 2019 and meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland will host a working group meeting of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) in Finlandia Hall from 5 to 7 March 2019.

As part of the implementation of the National Action Plan on Fundamental and Human Rights, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs commissioned a qualitative study on the rights and experiences of intersex persons. The purpose of the study was to find out how the decisions made when an intersex child is born and the treatments the child receives in childhood and adolescence have affected their lives.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini and President of the United Nations General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa will have a meeting in Helsinki on Wednesday 6 March to discuss topical international themes, focusing on young people's role in mediation and peace processes. Espinosa will visit Finland to attend the First International Symposium on Youth Participation in Peace Processes, held in Helsinki on 5–6 March.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the United Nations together with civil society representatives will hold the First International Symposium on Youth Participation in Peace Processes on 5–6 March.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Paris on 28 February to attend a joint meeting of the Presidential Committee and Bureau of the Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The Finnish-Kazakh Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will meet in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, from 28 February to 1 March 2019. The Commission will be co-chaired by Finland's Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen and Kazakhstan's Minister of Energy Kanat Bozumbajev.

Of the support, EUR four million will be channelled to Yemen, which is suffering from the worst humanitarian crisis of world with over 80 per cent of the population in need of assistance.