Finland remains firmly committed to improving the living conditions and rights of the poorest people, says Lenita Toivakka, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development

Minister Toivakka participated in the informal meeting (so-called Tidewater) of the OECD development ministers, international organisations and multilateral development banks on Monday 29 June. While addressing development financing, the Minister also highlighted the development policy priorities of the new Finnish Government.

“We will invest in four key themes: empowerment of women and girls; stable and well-functioning societies, capacity to generate and manage energy, water and food in a sustainable way; and strengthening of private sector, job creation and taxation capacity in developing countries”, Minister Toivakka said.

Finland will support the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by an annual allocation of EUR 100 million through equity and other investments, with an emphasis on the poorest countries. “We want to invest in activities that create positive long-term development impacts and strengthen the human rights of all people,” emphasized Minister Toivakka.

“The private sector should be seen as a source of solutions, knowledge and innovation for development,” noted Toivakka. As a new initiative, Finland will leverage innovation for development through the EUR 50 million BEAM (Business with Impact) programme, jointly financed by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Tekes - the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.

Minister Toivakka told that Finland will join the Tax Initiative of the Addis Ababa Conference of Financing for Development to double the support for tax base strengthening of developing countries by 2020. “We currently provide support for tax capacity through financial and technical support, research and awareness-raising with various partners such as parliamentarians, media and NGOs,” Minister Toivakka reminded.

“Due to Finland's internal economic situation, the Government was unfortunately forced to make severe cuts in all important sectors of public spending, including education, social security and development assistance. I underline that this was not a value choice,” Toivakka emphasized. After a cut of about 25% in the total ODA for 2016, Finland will strive to reach the target of 0.7% of GNI in the long term.

Toivakka stressed that even in the midst of savings, Finland will adhere to and strengthen the quality and effectiveness of its development cooperation. This also requires structural changes. “We will prioritize and build on what works well and where we are good at, like sharing of expertise or building institutions,” Minister Toivakka said.

Inquiries: Marja Koskela, Diplomatic Adviser to the Minister, +358 40 352 0463, Hanna Rinkineva, Counsellor, +358 295 350 591.