Foreign Ministry's press releases

The President of the Republic of Finland approved the NATO Status of Forces Agreement and the Paris Protocol on 22 March 2024. The President of the Republic confirmed the acts for acceptance and bringing into force of the agreements as well as related amendments to certain national acts.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Janna Laine as Counsellor for Public Diplomacy and Communications to Beijing from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2027.

EU foreign ministers will convene in Brussels on 18 March. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will represent Finland at the meeting.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has decided to suspend the reception of wild-berry pickers’ visa applications in Thailand. The suspension applies to all applicants in countries within the consular district of the Embassy of Finland in Bangkok: Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar. This means that Schengen visas will not be issued to wild-berry pickers from these countries for the summer 2024 harvest season.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will visit Los Angeles on 13–16 March 2024. During his visit, Minister Tavio will sign a letter of intent agreed between the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the City of Los Angeles on clean transition and digitalisation. The Minister will also present Finnish expertise in clean energy, port security and the games industry.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski in Helsinki on 14 March.

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet the Georgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ilia Darchiashvili, in Helsinki on 13 March. Georgia was granted the status of EU candidate country in December 2023.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will begin cooperation negotiations at its Service Centre for Entry Permits in Kouvola. The Service Centre is a separate unit under the Ministry’s Consular Services. The negotiations concern all specialist officials working at the unit. The cooperation procedure will begin on 6 March 2024 and the negotiations will begin on 12 March 2024. The negotiations will last at least six weeks in accordance with the procedure.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has awarded EUR 1,063,000 in discretionary government grants to 19 civil society organisations (CSOs) operating in the field of foreign and security policy.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the United Nations will organise a Future Forum on the Least Developed Countries (LCD Future Forum) in Helsinki on 4–6 March. The Forum will discuss how to harness Finnish expertise in science, technology and innovation to foster development in the world’s least developed countries. Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend the Future Forum.