Finland Times

The government has decided to close down its embassy in Managua, Nicaragua and the consulate general in Hamburg, Germany by this year, said a foreign ministry press release issued on Friday.

The decision has taken as a part of the ministry's review programme of Finland's network of diplomatic missions in 2013.

The operational budget cut and the Government 's effort to strengthen  country 's presence in the regions and countries whose importance is growing prompted the government to bring such changes, said the foreign ministry release.

The Finnish embassy to Managua, Nicaragua will be closed by the end of 2013 as a result of changes in the priorities of programme cooperation in Finland's development cooperation.

The ministry, however, decided to strengthen its embassy in Mexico emphasizing the diplomatic mission's regional responsibility.

The government also decided to set up a one-person liaison office in Bogota, the capital of Colombia considering the increased economic importance of South American region. The office will work under the embassy located in Peru's capital Lima.

In Europe, the operational profile of the embassy in Bratislava will be realigned. In the future, the embassy in Bratislava, Slovakia, will operate as a diplomatic mission under the leadership of Chargé d'Affaires Services and the embassy in Vienna will handle the works for the citizens.

As per the decision, the consulate general in Hamburg will be closed on 31 August, 2013 and the passport services will be provided by the service point of the Honorary Consulate.

The government also decided to strengthen the staff and resources at the embassies in Abu Dhabi, Algiers, and Seoul, the press release added.