Current affairs

“Many hellos and too many goodbyes” is a saying, which for Mr. Manu Virtamo, the retiring Consul General of Finland in New York, sums up the life of a diplomat to a tee. It is now his turn, to say goodbye to New York, and almost fifteen years of life in the United States when he prepares leaving for Finland to enjoy his well-earned retirement days. But before we say our goodbyes, we had a chance to discuss his career, life in the US and what is in store for Finland and the United States in the future.

Welcome to an audio journey through all things Finnish and Finnish American! This Suomi–Finland Podcast was launched in honor of the centennial of Finland-U.S. diplomatic relations, celebrated in May 2019. What began as a #FINUS100 project by the Embassy of Finland's Communications team, has been continued and in the future will feature episodes also from Finland's Consulate General in Los Angeles.

Finland wants to highlight the important work that is being done every day to promote equality-related values in society, around the world. Human Rights Campaign is the largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer civil rights organization in the U.S. Finland values HRC's tireless work towards a safe and inclusive world for all LGBTQI people and presented them with HÄN Honours.

The 11th Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting was held in Rovaniemi, Finland, on 7 May 2019. The meeting was hosted by Finland and chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini. The Foreign Ministers of all the Arctic States attended the meeting. The meetings were planned according to the green meetings concept. Catering is an essential part of sustainable meeting arrangements. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs worked in close cooperation with local service providers but and Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences.

The election day in Finland is Sunday 26th of May 2019. The advance voting will be held in the US on 15th-18th of May 2019.

Statement by Foreign Minister Timo Soini at the seminar "Connecting Meteorology with Traditional Knowledge and Local Knowledge" in Rovaniemi 6th of May 2019.

Finland's two-year Chairmanship of the Arctic Council will end at the Foreign Ministerial Meeting that will be held in Rovaniemi on 7 May. The Foreign Ministers of all the eight Arctic States – Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, the Russian Federation, Sweden, and the United States – are expected to arrive in Rovaniemi. The Ministerial Meeting will be chaired by Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini.

As the wise Snufkin from Moomins taught us, “You must go on a long journey before you can really find out how wonderful home is.” How does living abroad make you re-evaluate your relationship with your native country? We discussed this, among others themes, with Eero Kilpi, president of the Finlandia Foundation New York chapter, who has spent over two decades living in the US.

As the wise Snufkin from Moomins taught us, “You must go on a long journey before you can really find out how wonderful home is.” How does living abroad make you re-evaluate your relationship with your native country? We discussed this, among others themes, with Eero Kilpi, president of the Finlandia Foundation New York chapter, who has spent over two decades living in the US.

In 2019, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, together with other Team Finland organizations and the U.S. Embassy in Helsinki, will organize Road Show in Finland. The aim is to strengthen bilateral commercial and economic relations between Finland and the United States by advancing trade, investments and innovation cooperation.