Finland to establish a Liaision Office in Minsk

By opening a Liaison Office in Belarus, Finland strengthens the country’s presence in neighbouring areas.

In the past few years, Eastern Europe and Central Asia have risen to the fore in European Union policy. The Union strives to influence political and economic development in neighbouring areas, for instance through the Eastern Partnership, under the European Neighbourhood Policy, which was launched last year.

The European Union abandoned its prior isolation of Belarus at the end of 2008 and proceeded to a policy of dialogue and conditional cooperation, the aim being to accelerate political reform with a view to promoting democracy and strengthening human rights in the country. Together with other EU countries, Finland strives, by setting up a Liaison Office, to influence the situation vis-a-vis democracy in Belarus.

Finland’s presence in Belarus enables more effective exertion of influence with regard to multilateral and bilateral issues, as well as enabling more accurate follow-up and reporting.

The developing markets of Eastern Europe and Central Asia offer Finnish companies a good deal of opportunity for trade. At the same time, Finnish expertise in such sectors as energy and environment technologyinterests Belarusian companies. There is considerable interest in Belarusian markets, and promotion of trade and helping Finnish companies gain access to Belarusian markets is one of the central tasks of the Liaison Office.

Alongside economic cooperation and political relations, Eastern Europe is also important with regard to development cooperation. The Embassy of Finland in Vilnius and the Liaison Office in Minsk contribute to implementation of Finland’s new development cooperation action plan, the Wider Europe Initiative, in Eastern Europe.

The regional programmes for Eastern Europe, whose sphere includes Belarus, focus among others on energy and environmental cooperation and security as well as on trade and development. For instance in the environmental sector, Finland works together with the Belarusian environment authorities to reduce the country’s nutrient emissions from major rivers to the Baltic Sea.

Finland and Sweden have agreed that the Liaison Office of Finland will be situated in the premises of the Swedish Embassy in Minsk.

Set up on a simple one-person model, the Liaison Office will not provide services to citizens, i.e. consular services and services in passport and visa affairs, which will continue to be provided by the Embassy of Finland in Vilnius. Marja-Liisa Kiljunen, the Ambassador of Finland to Lithuania, is still the accredited Ambassador of Finland to Belarus.

Counsellor Ilkka Räisänen, who is now taking up his seventh posting abroad, has earlier experience of working in Eastern Europe, most recently as the second highest public servant at Finland’s largest diplomatic mission, the Consulate General in St. Petersburg.