Foreign Ministry's press releases

On 3 September 2018, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini appointed Ambassador Sofie From-Emmesberger to serve as new Chair of the EU’s Political and Security Committee (PSC).

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen will lead a Team Finland visit to Denmark on 4–5 September.

Yves Daccord, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will visit Finland on 6–7 September and meet Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Anne-Mari Virolainen.

Simon Coveney, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Deputy Prime Minister (Tánaiste), will visit Finland and meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini in Helsinki on Tuesday 4 September 2018.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Croatia on Monday 3 September. He will have meetings with Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Marija Pejčinović Burić and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

In the government budget session, decisions were made on additional funding for the Foreign Ministry' network of missions, regional cooperation, and export promotion. The Ministry’s operating expenses total EUR 224.8 million.

An informal meeting of EU foreign ministers (Gymnich) will be held in Vienna on 30–31 August. Finland's representative at the meeting will be Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

The Europe Forum Turku will gather Finnish opinion-makers and citizens to discuss Finland's role in Europe and in the European Union. A discussion event, organised by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), will take place on Friday 31 August.

According to an independent evaluation conducted for the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Finland’s development policy has been successful in promoting good practices to enhance the rights of women and girls. However, in addition to political commitment, a more clearly defined gender equality strategy would be required.

The Netherlands' Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephanus Blok will visit Finland and have bilateral discussions with Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini on Tuesday 28 August.