Minister for Foreign Affairs Soini and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Mykkänen to UN General Assembly
Foreign Minister Timo Soini and Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen will attend the 72nd Regular Session of the UN General Assembly in New York (Soini from 17 to 22 September and Mykkänen from 17 to 21 September). Finland’s delegation will be led by President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö, who will deliver Finland’s address at the session on Wednesday 20 September.
A key theme of the week of high-level meetings will be the initiatives related to reforming the UN, put forward by UN Secretary-General António Guterres, which Finland strongly supports. Minister Soini ja President Niinistö will attend an event on the UN reform, hosted by President of the United States Donald Trump.
During the week of high-level meetings, Minister Soini and Minister Mykkänen will prioritise matters related to the promotion of mediation, peacekeeping and women’s position.
Foreign Minister Soini and his Turkish colleague will co-organise a meeting of the UN Group of Friends of Mediation, which seeks to strengthen the UN’s conflict prevention and mediation activities. Additionally, Minister Soini and the foreign ministers of Uruguay, Indonesia and Rwanda will co-organise a peacekeeping dinner, and the Minister will deliver Finland’s address on the same topic at the Security Council. The importance of the role of youth and women will be emphasised in these addresses. The Foreign Minister’s Special Representative on Mediation Jutta Urpilainen will also participate in events at the week of high-level meetings.
The significance of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) will be highlighted because of North Korea’s actions, and Soini will raise the matter in his speech at the CTBT meeting.
Minister Soini will also attend other events, including a meeting on Syria and Iraq and a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Libya, and have bilateral meetings with, for instance, ministers from Ukraine, Belarus, Morocco and Egypt.
Minister Mykkänen will co-host a She Decides -meeting in cooperation with South Africa’s Minister of Health and a Mexican civil society organisation. The initiative aims to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and access to services In cooperation with UNFPA, UN Women, Zambia and Costa Rica, Minister Mykkänen will host a high-level side event focusing on the significance of sexual and reproductive health and rights for women’s economic empowerment.
The President of the Republic and Minister Mykkänen will attend the Zero Emission Summit, which will focus on the citizens’ role in mitigating climate change. Minister Mykkänen will also attend the United Nations Private Sector Forum 2017.
In addition, Mykkänen will have bilateral meetings with leaders of UN specialised agencies.
More information about the Foreign Minister’s programme: Riikka Taivassalo, Special Adviser to the Foreign Minister, tel. + 358 046 923 4581 and Erik af Hällström, Director, Unit for UN and General Global Affairs, tel. +358 40 509 5107.
More information about the programme of the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development: Johanna Karanko, Director, Unit for UN Development Affairs, tel. +358 50 439 4758, Tuuli-Maaria Aalto, Diplomatic Advisor to Minister Mykkänen tel. 040 352 0463, and Pasi Rajala, Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, tel. +358 50 574 0736
The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format [email protected].