Current affairs
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4.6.2026
Foreign Minister Valtonen to chair OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris on 4 June 2026
Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris on 4 June 2026 and serve as chair of several sessions. Minister Valtonen will meet with United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer during the meeting.
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1.6.2026
Minister Tavio to visit France
Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will travel to Paris on 1–4 June to meet his French ministerial colleague and representatives of local businesses and industry. After a programme of bilateral meetings, Minister Tavio will attend the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting as part of a delegation led by Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.
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29.5.2026
Finland to chair OECD Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris – Prime Minister Orpo to meet French President Macron
Finland’s Prime Minister Petteri Orpo will open the Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris on 3 June. Finland will chair the meeting for the first time in more than 40 years. Several ministers from Finland will attend the meeting. In Paris, Prime Minister Orpo will also have a bilateral meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron.
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3.5.2026
World Press Freedom Day highlights importance of freedom of expression for democracy and security
World Press Freedom Day is celebrated on 3 May. The day reminds us of the importance of free and independent media as the foundation for democracy, the rule of law and an open society. Finland promotes media freedom, which is fundamental to freedom of speech and expression, as part of its foreign and security policy.
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28.4.2026
Crisis Management NOW – Serving peace 70 years and beyond
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and its partners will organise the Crisis Management NOW event focusing on crisis management and peacebuilding on Tuesday 5 May.
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10.4.2026
2025 saw historic decline in international development finance
The official development assistance (ODA) continued to decline in 2025 both globally and in Finland. Statistics indicate a broad shift in global development finance. Ukraine remained Finland’s largest partner country for bilateral development cooperation.
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11.3.2026
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann to visit Finland
Secretary-General of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Mathias Cormann will visit Finland from 11 to 12 March. During the visit, he will meet Finland’s political leaders and attend a consultation event preceding the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting.
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25.2.2026
President Alexander Stubb and security policy drew global attention to Finland in 2025
Security policy topics, which have dominated international coverage on Finland since 2022, continued as the key theme in 2025. The number of news headlines about Finland was lower than the previous year, but President of the Republic Alexander Stubb assumed a significantly more visible role on the international stage. Country brand surveys indicate that Finland’s brand has become more positive, and awareness of Finland has increased since 2024. However, Finland’s positive image development has not fully kept pace with other countries.
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11.2.2026
Foreign Ministry’s consular services assist over 245,000 Finns around the world in 2025
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Finnish missions abroad provided consular services to approximately 245,000 customers in 2025. In addition, the Ministry’s 24/7 service was contacted around 6,700 times over the course of the year.
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2.1.2026
Unified export promotion network serves Finnish companies worldwide
As of 1 January, the foreign operations of Business Finland related to export promotion have been integrated into the structures of the Finnish Foreign Service. The reform will strengthen the Team Finland network and provide a better platform for a unified team for export promotion.