Minister of Transport of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saleh Al-Jasser will visit Finland on 13–14 May.
Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha from 14 to 16 May 2024.
Joint statement by Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on recent developments in Georgia on 10 May 2024.
The United Nations Committee against Torture examined the eighth periodic report submitted by Finland under the Convention against Torture. A public oral hearing of the Finnish delegation was held in connection with the examination. The Committee issued its concluding observations and recommendations in Geneva on 10 May.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland together with its partners will organise a Crisis Management NOW expo focusing on crisis management and peacebuilding. The event will take place in the Wanha Satama conference centre in Katajanokka, Helsinki, on Wednesday 22 May. It will be open to all and free of charge.
On Monday 6 May, the autonomous administration of northeast Syria deported a Finnish citizen it had detained to Finland. The person in question is an adult man who was taken to Syria as a child in 2014. He is not suspected of criminal activity in Finland or in Syria.
The EU Foreign Affairs Council, in its development configuration, will take place in Brussels on 7 May 2024. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will represent Finland at the meeting. He will meet representatives of the European Commission and the European External Action Service in connection with the meeting.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet Secretary General of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Helga Schmid in Helsinki on 6 May.
On 3 May 2024, the President of the Republic approved the amendment to the Annex to the Decree of the President of the Republic on the Locations of Finland’s Diplomatic Missions and the Provision of Consular Services in the Foreign Service. Due to the amendments to the Decree, the Embassy of Finland in Doha will begin the provision of consular services on 1 June 2024.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has appointed Riikka Hietajärvi as Counsellor for Public Diplomacy and Communications to the Embassy of Finland in the United States. Her three-year term will start on 1 June 2024.
The Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will focus on the promotion of sustainable and inclusive growth and the strengthening of the OECD’s international role. The meeting will take place in Paris on 2–3 May. Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will represent Finland at the meeting.
Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will attend the Nordic–African Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (NAFM) in Copenhagen, Denmark on 2 May 2024.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ introductory courses on NATO and sanctions were granted special recognition for their topicality and effectiveness at eOppiva Awards 2023. Both courses are available in the government digital learning environment eOppiva.
The visit of Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide to Finland will be postponed.
Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen will meet Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide in Helsinki on 29 April.
On 25 April 2024, the government plenary session issued decrees on the Agreement between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty regarding the Status of their Forces (NATO SOFA) and on the Protocol on the Status of International Military Headquarters set up pursuant to the North Atlantic Treaty (Paris Protocol). The NATO SOFA regulates the legal status of forces of NATO Member States while in the territory of another NATO Member State in connexion with their official duties. The Paris Protocol extends, with certain adaptations, the provisions of NATO SOFA to NATO Allied Headquarters and their military and civilian personnel.
Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio visited Kiev on 25 April.
On Wednesday 8 May 2024, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will hold a public consultation event on the draft government proposal for amending the Finnish Act on Concessional Credits Granted to Developing Countries.
The Advisory Board for International Human Rights (IONK) began a new term of office at the start of 2024. Appointed for 2024–2027, the IONK monitors the implementation of Finland's international human rights policy and may issue recommendations on it.