Current affairs

Consulate General of Finland in New York will bring the portable passport unit to Lake Worth, FL, from 13 to 16 February. An appointment for passport renewal is required, and the application must be submitted in person. Identity card applications are also accepted.

IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, and Finland announces the establishment of the Finland-Latin America and the Caribbean Blended Finance Climate Fund.

Amendments to the Aliens Act will extend the use of a long-term visa known as a D visa. The amendments will contribute to promoting education-based and labour-based immigration and streamline entry procedures. The President of the Republic approved the amendments on 20 December.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has issued a Decree on Fees for Services Produced by the Foreign Service. The new decree will enter into force on 1 January 2023.

Ville Skinnari, the Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, and Greg Abbott, the Governor of Texas signed today a Statement of Mutual Cooperation aimed at deepening economic and research and innovation relations between Finland and the State of Texas. Minister Skinnari and Governor Abbott met today in connection with the minister’s trade promotion trip.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will lead a Team Finland trade mission to the State of Texas and visit Washington DC from 12 to 16 December.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit the United States from 7 to 9 December.

The Finnish Government submitted a proposal on Finland’s accession to NATO to Parliament on 5 December. The consultation on the draft proposal generated about 1,600 responses. The Government reviewed the proposal based on the responses and supplemented the rationale with specifications concerning cooperation between the Government and the President of the Republic, Parliament’s role in the handling of NATO matters and in making decisions on them, and the status of Åland Islands under international law.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto visited Kyiv, Ukraine, on 28 November together with Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers. In Kyiv, the foreign ministers met the President and the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, among others, and reaffirmed their countries’ firm support to Ukraine.