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8.5.2026 | At the presidential session on Friday 8 May, the President of the Republic appointed Erik Lundberg to serve as Head of Mission at Finland’s Embassy in Addis Ababa and Pasi Hellman to serve as Head of Mission at Finland’s Embassy in Tokyo as of 1 September 2026 and Maria Ågren to serve as Roving Ambassador for Turkmenistan as of 1 June 2026.

18.5.2026 | The World Health Organization (WHO) will hold its 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva on 18–23 May 2026. Finland’s delegation will be led by Minister of Social Affairs and Health Wille Rydman.

21.5.2026 | Special Address by the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development of Finland, H.E. Ville Tavio at the LDC Future Forum on 20 May 2026, Helsinki, Finland.

9.6.2023 | Humanitarian food assistance to Ethiopia is suspected of having been diverted from people in need. In May, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported that misappropriation of aid is suspected in the Tigray region in Northern Ethiopia, but now the suspicions extend to the whole country. The WFP has launched an investigation into the suspected abuse of food assistance to Ethiopia and suspended some of its aid deliveries to Ethiopia.

18.11.2022 | Finland is supporting the COWASH project in Ethiopia to improve access to safe water supply, sanitation and hygiene. In recent years, the development cooperation project has focused especially on creating accessible toilets and washing facilities.

29.7.2022 | Member of the Parliament of Finland Suldaan Said Ahmed visited the Horn of Africa on 14-27 July. During his trip, Special Representative Said Ahmed visited Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia, including Mogadishu, as well as Hargeisa in Somaliland.

29.4.2021 | “Every extra day of this war means more loss of life, more destroyed homes, more refugees, more violence against girls and women, more suffering for civilians.”

26.1.2021 | Minister for Foreign Affairs Haavisto to visit Ethiopia as the EU representative Ministry for Foreign Affairs Publication date 26.1.2021 13.35 Type: Press release High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell ...

14.10.2019 | -

18.1.2024 | The budget reductions set out in the Government Programme will focus especially on region and country-specific development cooperation. The Country Programmes with Afghanistan, Kenya, Mozambique and Myanmar will be discontinued during the government term. Reductions will also be made in multilateral cooperation, humanitarian assistance and development policy loans and investments.

15.10.2019 | -

19.1.2024 | Finland finances international forest research as part of development cooperation in the forestry sector. According to Pia Katila, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland, multidisciplinary approach is a key to producing information to support forest policy in developing countries.

24.1.2024 | On 23 January 2024, Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen appointed Suldaan Said Ahmed as her Special Envoy on Peace Mediation in the Horn of Africa. In his role as the Foreign Minister’s Special Envoy, Said Ahmed will focus on supporting peace processes.

1.12.2022 | Finland’s Ambassador in Addis Ababa Outi Holopainen says that while her daily life is sometimes tense in Ethiopia, it is also extremely rewarding. Addis Ababa houses the African Union’s headquarters, which in a way makes it the centre of African diplomacy.

16.2.2023 | Under-Secretary of State Pasi Hellman from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will attend the pledging conference of the Education Cannot Wait fund in Geneva 16 to 17 February. The fund supports education in humanitarian and prolonged crises. Finland will grant two million euros to the Education Cannot Wait fund this year. In 2020–2022, Finland supported the fund by a total of EUR 6 million.

22.12.2023 | Finland will provide EUR 17.3 million in humanitarian aid to Sudan, Ukraine, Burkina Faso and Lebanon through the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

30.6.2023 | At the presidential session on Thursday 29 June, the President of the Republic appointed new representatives to the African Union and to the UN agencies in Vienna.

23.11.2023 | According to a recent evaluation, long-term commitment and funding for development cooperation in the education sector should be guaranteed to maintain Finland's current reputation and the effectiveness of development cooperation.

7.10.2022 | The Horn of Africa is battling with a historic drought that threatens the lives of millions of people. More funding is urgently needed for both emergency relief and long-term solutions. Finland, too, has increased its support to the region.

9.3.2023 | On 27 March 2023, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will publish two reports on how the forthcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDD) Directive would affect developing countries and their companies and trade.