Foreign Ministry's press releases

Finland’s Embassy in Kyiv is on enhanced readiness and the staff will continue their work at the mission. The Embassy has adapted its activities as required in the current situation, and some of its staff members have been repatriated to Finland.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will attend the Global Disability Summit in Oslo on 16–17 February. He will announce the Foreign Ministry’s commitments on the promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities at the meeting. The aim of the summit is to intensify the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and thereby to bring about substantial improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias in Helsinki on 15 February.

On 13–14 February, Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will attend an informal meeting of EU trade ministers in Marseille, France.

Based on the decision to continue evacuations from Afghanistan, 37 Afghans were brought to Finland late on the evening of Thursday 10 February 2022. In addition, about 10 evacuees from Afghanistan will arrive in Finland in the next few weeks.

A legislative amendment, which will enter into force in June, will enable the introduction of a long-term visa. A long-term visa is related to work-based immigration and a fast track procedure for entry into the country. In the first phase, a long-term visa can be issued to senior specialists, start-up entrepreneurs and their family members.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Ankara on 8 February. During his visit, Minister Haavisto will discuss the bilateral relations between Finland and Turkey and topical foreign policy themes.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation and Equality Thomas Blomqvist will attend a virtual meeting of Ministers for Nordic Cooperation on 8 February. This will be the first meeting during Norway’s Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2022. Finland’s Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers ended at the turn of the year.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Tehran on 7 February. During the visit, Minister Haavisto will meet, for example, President Ebrahim Raisi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir Abdollahian as well as heads of the Iranian offices of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (UNAMA) and other representatives of the international community.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will visit Doha, Qatar, on 6 February. During his visit, Minister Haavisto will meet the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, and representatives of the international community.