Foreign Ministry's press releases

Germany’s Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock will visit Finland from 13 to 14 February at the invitation of Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto.

The number of visas applied for at Finnish missions abroad are on the rise again after the pandemic years. However, the number of visas granted was only about one fifth of the number of visas granted in 2019, the year before the pandemic started.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has awarded EUR 445,000 in discretionary government grants to civil society organisations (CSOs) for their Europe information purposes. In this application round, grants were awarded to 22 CSOs and 24 projects.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is launching the new Climate Honours diploma to recognise and thank those involved in climate work. Finland’s network of missions around the world will grant Climate Honours to individuals and small organisations that are leading the way in combating climate change.

Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will visit New Delhi and Mumbai from 8 to 10 February. The visit aims to promote commercial and economic opportunities between Finland and India. In Mumbai, Minister Skinnari will inaugurate Finland’s new Consulate General. Parts of his programme will be a collaboration with Norway’s Minister of Trade and Industry.

Finland will be sending EUR 1 million in humanitarian assistance to Türkiye and Syria through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The support will be used to provide food, shelter, medical supplies and psychosocial support to people who lost their homes in the two countries.

Minister Ville Skinnari is visiting Qatar from 5 to 7 February 2023. On 5 February, he inaugurated the new Embassy of Finland in Doha as a representative of the Finnish State. The Embassy started operations in December 2021. Besides the inauguration ceremony, Minister Skinnari’s programme in Doha includes meetings with authorities, researchers and representatives of business and industry. The visit aims to continue to foster good relations and promote trade between Finland and Qatar.

On 2 February 2023, Finland joined a core group set up to support Ukraine in achieving accountability for Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine. Altogether 19 states and the European External Action Service have joined the group in addition to Finland and Ukraine.

Sweden’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström will visit Helsinki from 6 to 7 February. He was invited by Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto to attend the Hanalys foreign policy forum at Hanaholmen on 7 February.

The first Minister of the Environment and Climate Change of the Federal Republic of Somalia Khadija Mohamed Almakhzoumi visits Finland on 31 January–3 February 2023. The visit is on the invitation of the Finnish Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Maria Ohisalo. The purpose of the visit is to support the new ministry in starting its work.