NordenBladet — Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will continue his school visits, which focus on the prevention of violent radicalisation, by touring in the counties, too. On 29 January, Soini will travel to Nurmes and Siilinjärvi; he will visit the upper secondary school in Nurmes and the Ahmo comprehensive school and the municipal upper secondary school in Siilinjärvi, near Kuopio.

“Radicalisation that leads to violence does not take place on the spur of the moment, but means a series of events in which it is possible intervene. I want to encourage young people to be active and step in. It is also interesting to hear what young people think and what they want to ask about the matter,” Soini says.

The school visits’ aim is to enhance young people’s knowledge and awareness of how we can prevent violent radicalisation through foreign and security policy.

“I want to remind upper secondary school students about the importance of Finland’s foreign and security policy in the fight against violent radicalisation and terrorism. Finland works in various parts of the word to promote human rights, especially the rights of women and girls, seeks to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner, and takes part in crisis management. All this is important in efforts to reduce violence and marginalisation.

The Minister started the visits to schools last year at the Tikkurila upper secondary school. In 2017, Soini visited the Tapiola upper secondary school, Maunula Secondary School and Helsinki Math School.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet — The new visual identity of the Foreign Service conveys the message of an organisation that operates in a stable manner in a turbulent world and that works to make the world a better place. The special feature of the identity is the innovative utilisation of the logo in the visualisation of data.

The new visual identity of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the diplomatic missions is being taken into use on 18 January. The Global Cycles concept of the new identity illustrates an internationally credible, agile and innovative actor that operates in a stable manner and exerts influence in a tumultuous world. The undulations of the globe-shaped basic blue logo denote things that affect Finland and that Finland can influence through the Foreign Service. The identity is designed to be flexible for different uses and adapts to both dignified representation and marketing-oriented needs.

In a digital world the logo becomes functional
The globe image, a key element of the new visual identity, functions dynamically in digital environments. A specific user interface capable of receiving real-time data signals has been built for the globe of the logo. This enables the Foreign Service to communicate in a new way about themes important to it, and to visualise different aspects of world events. The dynamic logo can react, for instance, to statistics or sound. At the launch of the visual identity at the travel fair Matka 2018, the new feature is utilised to visualise travel information on a hemisphere bigger than two metres.

The functionality of the Foreign Service’s new visual identity is a concrete illustration of innovativeness and Finnish technological know-how. It also highlights the active nature of Finland’s foreign policy. The new visual identity was designed by Mikael Kivelä, Head of Design at the design agency 358, on the basis of the goals created jointly by the staff.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet —  Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini will visit Madrid from 17 to 19 January. During his visit, Minister Soini will meet the Spanish Foreign Minister, Alfonso Dastis, and hold a lecture on security questions in Europe at the International Affairs and Foreign Policy Institute (INCIPE).

The main objective of the visit is to develop dialogue on key foreign and security policy matters and to advance bilateral cooperation in commercial and economic and EU questions. The topics on the agenda of the ministerial visit will include the future of the EU, mediation, the future of the Baltic Sea, and the EU’s neighbourhood and migration.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet — The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) will have a joint stand at the Travel Fair 2018, to be held at the Expo and Convention Centre in Helsinki from 18 to 21 January 2018. They can be visited at stand 6s61.

How can I travel safely the Madventures’ way and avoid running into the kind of difficulties that Turakainen does? Why is it important that I register my travel details with the Foreign Ministry? What precautions should I take to stay in good health when travelling? Can I avoid jet lag?

At the joint stand of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and THL you will get answers to these and other questions related to travelling.  Experts in travel safety and travel health will offer useful tips for safe travelling and practical guidance for difficult situations. Riku Rantala and Tunna Milonoff, the Madventures duo, will host a discussion on travelling and share their best practices on how to prepare for a trip. Experts in emergency and crisis situations will clarify what Finland’s diplomatic missions can do to help Finnish citizens in distress abroad.

At the Travel Fair, you may also take part in a quiz and test how smart a traveller you are. Additionally, safe travelling will be the first topic of a podcast series (named Suomi mainittu!) to be launched by the Foreign Ministry just before the Travel Fair. The first podcast will feature Raimo Pahkasalo, Finland’s Consul in Ba ngkok, and Hanna-Liisa Peltoniemi, Desk Officer in the Unit for Consular Affairs of the Foreign Ministry.

Source: Finland.ee
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NordenBladet — The chairs of the Finnish-Russian Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation will meet in Moscow on 16 January. The Economic Commission will be co-chaired by Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkänen and Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitri Kozak.

“Trade between Finland and Russia is developing favourably. At the same time, Russia’s tightening import substitution policy causes problems, and several separate challenges need to be discussed, such as a possible export ban on birch logs to be imposed by Russia. I intend to discuss the situation with Deputy Prime Minister Kozak and to help in reaching a solution to the problems,” Minister Mykkänen says.

In Moscow, Mykkänen will also attend the Gaidar Forum. The Forum is an annual event, convened to discuss the economic situation in Russia and the trends in world economy. It gathers together experts in economic questions and opinion leaders from different countries. Minister Mykkänen will hold a speech in the main panel discussion of the Forum. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will also speak at the event.

Mykkänen will also visit Finnish companies in Moscow and hold discussions with Russia’s Minister for Economic Development Maksim Oreshkin.

The aim of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation is to support Finnish and Russian companies’ business opportunities and to promote the commercial and economic relations between Finland and Russia. It consists of fifteen sectoral working groups and nine regional working groups. At the meeting, the chairs will handle, for example, questions related to trade, energy cooperation and the business environment in Russia. The chairs will also discuss challenges encountered by individual Finnish companies in Russia.
The trade between Finland and Russia has been on the increase starting from the end of 2016. Russia is the sixth most important destination of Finnish exports and second among the most important countries of Finnish imports. The value of Finnish investments in Russia is approximately EUR 12 billion.

Trade with Russia is subject to the economic sanctions imposed by the EU and Russia’s counter-sanctions. The EU sanctions are aligned to the implementation of the Minsk agreements.

Source: Finland.ee
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