Minister Väyrynen to visit the United States
Press release 116/2009
23 April, 2009
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will make a visit to the United States from 24 April to 27 April. Väyrynen will meet with Ron Kirk, the new United States Trade Representative, in Washington, D.C. on Monday, 27 April. Among the issues to be discussed are bilateral trade relations, the international economic crisis and topical WTO issues as well as the promotion of trans-Atlantic relations.
Minister Väyrynen’s agenda also includes meetings with high-ranking officials of the US Department of State and USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, the body responsible for US development policy. These talks will address, in particular, Finland’s initiative for a trans-Atlantic partnership to promote sustainable development. The initiative, which gained unanimous approval at EU level, aims to deepen development policy dialogue between the European Union and the United States and to increase the support given by industrialised countries to strengthen the position of the poorest developing countries, e.g. in development, environmental and trade negotiations. The talks will also address the economic crisis and its effects on the financing problems of developing countries.
In addition, Väyrynen will head Finland’s delegation to the 2009 Spring Meetings of the joint Development Committee of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, to be held during the weekend. Included on the Minister’s agenda are meetings with World Bank leaders and participation in the ministerial meeting on climate issues convened by Robert Zoellick, President of the World Bank.
The minister will also take part in a seminar on the forest and climate change being organized by Finpro and the World Bank. Finnish forestry companies and institutions will also take part in the seminar. The World Bank has expressed interest in increasing cooperation with Finland especially in the forest sector; the purpose of the seminar is to present Finland’s state-of-the art expertise.
Additional information: Päivi Nevala, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 40 754 4375; Head of Unit Pekka Hukka, mobile tel. +358 40 569 6629 (with regard to the World Bank and the IMF meeting); Counsellor Matti Aaltola tel. +358 9 1605 5527 (Finland-US bilateral relations)