Prime Minister Sipilä to visit Lebanon together with Estonian Prime Minister

On 17–18 August, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä will visit Lebanon together with the Prime Minister of Estonia, Taavi Rõivas. The purpose is to visit the UN's UNIFIL operation and discuss the current situation in the area with Lebanese leaders.

During their visit, Prime Ministers Sipilä and Rõivas will have meetings with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. The discussions will focus on bilateral relations between the countries, the Syrian conflict and the wider regional situation in the Middle East. 

Finland, Estonia and Ireland form a joint battalion in the UNIFIL peacekeeping operation. Finland holds the battalion's lead nation role. Finland is currently Europe's sixth largest country in its participation in UN peacekeeping. Out of Finland's involvement, UNIFIL is the biggest.

The prime ministers' programme will include a meeting with Finnish and Estonian UNIFIL peacekeepers and the operation's leadership. The premiers will also learn about the humanitarian and refugee situation in the region.

Prime Minister Sipilä will return to Finland on Tuesday evening, 18 August.

Inquiries: Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen, Special Adviser (International Affairs), Prime Minister's Office, tel. +358 40 748 3867, Arto Räty, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 9 1608 8101 and Päivi Paasikoski, Head of Communications, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 40 547 6279