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30.11.2023 | Over the past decade, Finland has improved its ranking in the Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index study from 18th to 15th place. The study of people’s images of 60 countries shows that Finland is on the rise, especially as a country to live in or visit.

21.3.2023 | The first UN Water Conference in 46 years takes place in New York on 22–24 March 2023. The Finnish delegation is composed of a broad spectrum of stakeholders representing the water sector. Jaana Husu-Kallio, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, stresses the importance of good governance of water resources, cooperation between the public and private sectors, and the high level of expertise Finland has in water issues.

18.9.2023 | The Finnish Chef Association has published Finnish food recipes (‘Suomiruoka-reseptiikka’) to promote Finland’s country branding and food exports. The recipes will serve Finnish embassies and missions around the world and those organising international meetings and events in Finland. When ready, the material will be freely available to everyone. The material was produced under an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

7.6.2023 | The OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) will take place from 7 to 8 June 2023 in Paris. The theme of this year’s meeting is securing a resilient future. The ministers will also discuss the reconstruction of Ukraine.

19.9.2022 | “The fight for natural resources is a common trigger for conflict in many places. When I was in Uganda, I saw what an immense impact climate change and loss of biodiversity have on people’s lives,” says Anna Merrifield, Director of the recently created Unit for Climate and Environmental Diplomacy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

23.5.2022 | The Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be present at the World Village Festival on Sunday 29 May. At the weekend, the events at the Market Square and Tiivistämö in the Suvilahti area will focus on the boundaries of our planet.

23.8.2021 | The Ministry for Foreign Affairs is making preparations to expand and strengthen the network of Finnish missions abroad. A new embassy will be opened in Dakar, Senegal. The embassy would start operations at some point later this year. In September 2020, Finland reopened its embassy in Manila, the Philippines. In addition to Dakar, Finland is currently preparing to open a mission in the capital of Qatar, Doha.

9.9.2022 | At the presidential session on Friday 9 September, the President of the Republic appointed a new Ambassador to Pakistan and three new non-resident Ambassadors and decided on three authorisations to represent Finland.

10.4.2023 | The Good Friday Agreement was signed on 10 April 1998 after lengthy negotiations, bringing to an end three decades of violence in Northern Ireland.

23.8.2021 | Distinguished Ministers and Heads of Mission, Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the 2021 Meeting of Heads of Mission! As you can see from the picture, I am here in the familiar Engel Hall in the newly renovated premises of Merikasarmi. While on the face of it this space may appear to be the same as before, the Ritarikatu Hall, where the panel discussions are being held, is not easily recognisable.

10.11.2021 | Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto will meet Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See Paul Gallagher in Helsinki on 12 November.

8.11.2022 | The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is hosting three side events at the COP27 Climate Change Conference in Egypt on 10 and 12 November in cooperation with the Nordic Council of Ministers. The events will present the Catch the Carbon package of climate measures and discuss research on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands. The discussions will be streamed live as a webcast.

7.11.2022 | Finland’s human rights record will be examined in the Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 9 November. The review gives UN Member States the opportunity to ask Finland questions about our human rights record and give Finland recommendations. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will head Finland’s interministerial delegation.

9.12.2021 | Nearly 9,400 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Finland between 29 November and 5 December. The weekly number of reported COVID-19 cases has doubled from the end of October and the start of November. The number of new cases was about 4,200 between 25 and 31 October and about 5,200 between 1 and 7 November. The number of people seeking testing has also been increasing for several weeks now. The bur...

17.6.2021 | The Ministry for Foreign Affairs recommends exercising special caution when travelling to the EU and Schengen area The Ministry also recommends avoiding unnecessary travel to countries outside the EU and Schengen area, except for countries for which the restrictions on entry have been lifted. In addition, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs still recommends avoiding all travel to Brazil, South Africa and India.

21.9.2021 | Finland joined the international Global Learning Network of the World Economic Forum. Minister of Education Li Andersson participated in the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Development Impact Summit on 21 September. A central theme at the meeting was to find solutions to close the education gap in education systems around the world that arose during the pandemic.

12.2.2021 | Finland invests in climate diplomacy ahead of summits Ministry for Foreign Affairs Publication date 12.2.2021 15.34 Type: News item The year 2021 will be a “super year” for climate change and biodiversity. Finland's own ambitious climate objective...

13.12.2021 | The province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique has been under attack by Islamic insurgents for more than four years. Anna-Kaisa Heikkinen, Ambassador of Finland to Mozambique, explains what is happening in Cabo Delgado and why it is important for Finland to participate in the EU training mission.

22.8.2022 | "While Europe stands united in relation to Russia and in condemning military action, we must not ignore or forget Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Yemen and other countries where human rights or the social conditions for living a decent life are under threat. The global need for humanitarian aid is now greater than ever before. No single humanitarian crisis is more important than another. These are always matters of human distress."

8.11.2021 | The Parties to the UN Climate Change Agreement will meet in Glasgow, Great Britain on 31 October–12 November. One of the conference's key themes is adaptation to climate change and its funding, especially in developing countries. The least developed countries and the poorest people suffer the most from the impacts of climate change even though they contribute to it the least.