Foreign and security policy as well as cooperation development the themes in Nordic cooperation week

The Nordic Council Session will take place this year in Reykjavik, Iceland on 27–29 October. Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, Ministry for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka, Minister of Education and Culture Sanni Grahn-Laasonen, Minister of Agriculture and the Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen and Minister for Nordic Cooperation Anne Berner will participate, as representatives of the Finnish Government, in the Nordic Council Session and in sector-specific Nordic meetings.

The themes of the session and the meetings will be the development of Nordic cooperation, environmental challenges, and foreign and security policy. Finland will take over the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers for 2016.

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä will attend the Nordic Prime Ministers’ meeting and the meeting of the Prime Ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries. The Nordic Prime Ministers’ discussions will focus on, among other things, migration, the situation in its countries of origin, and climate issues. The Prime Ministers of the Nordic and Baltic countries will discuss regional issues, the EU’s Eastern Partnership and the economic situation in Europe.

In addition, the Nordic Prime Ministers will meet representatives of the autonomous regions and the Presidium of the Nordic Council. At the Nordic Council Session, Prime Minister Sipilä will present the programme for Finland’s coming Presidency.

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Anne Berner will participate in the meeting of Ministers of Nordic Cooperation and will present a report on Nordic-EU Cooperation to the Nordic Council.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will participate in the meeting of Nordic Foreign Ministers. The main themes of the meeting will be the further development of Nordic Cooperation in foreign and security policy as well as current foreign policy issues, such as the situation in Syria.

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka will attend the meetings of the Foreign Trade Ministers and the Development Ministers. 

Minister of Education and Culture Sanni Grahn-Laasonen will participates in the meeting of Nordic Ministers of Culture.

Minister of Agriculture and the Environment Kimmo Tiilikainen will attend the meeting of Nordic Ministers of the Environment. At the meeting, the ministers will give a joint statement in advance of the Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21). Minister Tiilikainen will also participate in a question and answer session, at which Nordic members of parliament will ask the ministers questions on issues of current interest.

The Nordic Council is the largest Nordic cooperation forum of the year. It gathers together Nordic parliamentarians, Prime Ministers, opposition leaders and sector ministers. This year, Denmark served as the chair of intergovernmental cooperation.

The Nordic Council’s renowned prizes (literature, children’s and young people’s literature, music, nature and environment, and film) will be awarded in at a ceremony on Tuesday, 27 October.  

Inquiries:

Prime Minister Sipilä’s programme: Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen, Special Adviser (International Affairs), tel. +358 40 748 3867, Prime Minister's Office; Kari Kahiluoto, Head of the National Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation, tel. +358 295 351 556, Ministry for Foreign Affairs; and Maria Nurmi, Communications Specialist for International Affairs, tel. +358 50 408 4061, Prime Minister’s Office

Minister for Foreign Affairs Soini’s programme: Katja Luopajärvi, Counsellor, tel. +358 295 351 506; and Riikka Taivassalo, Special Adviser, tel. +358 295 351 960, Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Minister for Nordic Cooperation Berner's programme: Kari Kahiluoto, Head of the National Secretariat for Nordic Cooperation, tel. +358 295 351 556, Ministry for Foreign Affairs; and Kristo Lehtonen, Special Adviser, tel. +358 50 464 9779, Ministry of Transport and Communications

Nordic Council www.norden.org