Foreign Ministry's press releases

Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will make a virtual Team Finland visit to Sweden on 15 April 2021. The visit is intended to intensify trade relations between Finnish and Swedish companies, particularly in the food and beverage industries, the textile industry and the sustainable healthcare sectors.

Finland's development cooperation expenditure in 2020 amounted to EUR 1 119 million. This represented 0.47 per cent of Finland's gross national income (GNI). Last year, the total amount of the exclusive ODA budget item administered by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs was EUR 708.4 million.

Pekka Haavisto, Foreign Minister of Finland, mandated by the EU High Representative Josep Borrell, is undertaking a second mission to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Foreign Minister will discuss the situation in Ethiopia, notably the crisis in Tigray and its regional implications.

Today, on 1 April 2021, the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee issued its recommendations to Finland concerning Finland’s seventh Periodic Report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

According to Finland in the World Media, an annual survey commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the innovative management of the coronavirus pandemic was the most important theme connected to Finland last year. Other news in the world media highlighted the strengths of Finland’s country image: equality, high-quality education system and stable society. The review estimates that Finland’s general reputation has further improved in foreign media.

Minister Skinnari will visit Stockholm on 31 March–1 April. The purpose of the visit is to promote both countries’ access on a growth track in international trade after COVID-19. Worldwide and European recovery measures offer excellent growth opportunities for Finnish and Swedish companies when they explore solutions related to green transition, digitalisation and development of industries.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Anna Kotaviita as Press Officer at the Consulate General of Finland in St Petersburg for a three-year term. Kotaviita will assume her duties in St Petersburg on 30 March 2021.

The actions through which the global campaign will promote gender equality in technology and innovations will be announced on a virtual forum held in Mexico. Finland holds a lead role in this work. The forum will be attended by Prime Minister Sanna Marin and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari.

More than 200 million people across the globe need humanitarian assistance due to conflicts, natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. The provision of humanitarian assistance is one of the most concrete ways of responding to crises and disasters. Finland grants a total of EUR 69.6 million to humanitarian work carried out by the UN organizations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and Finnish civil society organisations.

In 2021, Finland acts as the chairing country of Nordic and Baltic countries cooperation, NB8. This year’s first NB8 meeting of Foreign Ministers will be on Friday, 26 March. Due to the COVID-19 situation, the meeting will take place virtually.