Foreign Minister Valtonen to visit Albania, Serbia and Kosovo

Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will visit Albania, Serbia and Kosovo on 4–5 September. The aim of the visit is to strengthen political and commercial relations with Finland’s partners in the Western Balkans. Finland supports the aspirations of the region’s countries for EU membership.

During her visit, Foreign Minister Valtonen will meet with her counterparts, the foreign ministers of Albania, Serbia and Kosovo and political leadership  in the countries. They will discuss bilateral relations, EU enlargement, stability and security of the Western Balkans, the situation in Ukraine and topical issues related to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In Serbia, the minister will meet with representatives of Finnish companies operating across the Western Balkans. 

“Finland strongly supports the Western Balkan countries’ path to EU membership. The region’s wellbeing and stability is very important to all of Europe, including Finland. We need to strengthen cooperation with our closest partners, especially given the current European security environment. The EU is already the closest partner of the Western Balkan countries. Finland, too, is deepening its engagement with the region,” Minister Valtonen says.