Finland Times

After making visiti to Somalia  and Ethiopia on Monday, the Foreign Minister, Erkki Tuomioja and Minister for International Development Heidi Hautala on Tuesday visited South Sudan.

They are scheduled to end their visit in Djibouti  today as a part of their tour to the region of the Horn of Africa.

 Pekka Haavisto, the Foreign Minister's Special Representative, is also a participant on the trip, said a government press release on Tuesday.

The difficult political and security situation in the strategically important Horn of Africa and the need for assistance require an active approach from the international community.

The purpose of the visit by the ministers is to get first-hand information to support Finland's input and development cooperation to the region. In accordance with the Government Programme and the Development Policy Programme, Finland should pay attention to supporting fragile states.

The ministers visited the South Sudanese capital of Juba on 2 April and met with Foreign Minister Nhial Deng Nhial and Water Resources Minister Paul Mayom Akec. This is the first ministerial-level visit from Finland to South Sudan. The topics discussed were the country's situation and development as well as bilateral cooperation, especially in the water sector.

From South Sudan the ministers continue to Djibouti, where on 2-3 April they have meetings with representatives of the Government of Djibouti and Mahboub M. Maalim, Executive Secretary of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). 

The topics of discussion are regional cooperation and its promotion, as well as the cooperation projects of IGAD and Finland. The trip to the Horn of Africa ends in Djibouti today.

Earlier, The Finnish ministers Somalia and Ethiopia on Monday.  Ethiopia has long been one of Finland's development cooperation partner countries. The ministers met with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa on Monday.

 

The views of Ethiopia, which current chairs the African Union, were heard and bilateral relations and cooperation were discussed during the meeting. The Ministers also met with representatives of civil society in Ethiopia.

On Monday the ministers visited Mogadishu, the Somali capital and met with President Hassan Sheikh Mahamud, Prime Minister Abdi Farah Shirdon, Foreign Minister Fawzia Yusuf Haji Adan and Minister of Development Maryan Qasim, and also with Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Osman Jawar. Discussions focused on the situation in Somalia and development needs. In addition, the ministers met with representatives of civil society and became acquainted with the activities of the UN and the EU in the city.

Finland supports Somalia through humanitarian aid, support to non-government organisations, and a number of bilateral projects. In addition, Finland has decided to support the country's reconstruction work at community level.