Minister Väyrynen to attend the African Union Foreign Ministers meeting in Addis Ababa

Press release 20/2010
27 January, 2010

Minister Väyrynen to attend the African Union Foreign Ministers meeting in Addis Ababa

Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen will attend the Opening Ceremony of the Foreign Ministers meeting of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 28 January. The meeting will make preparations for the Assembly of the African Union, to be held at the level of Heads of State and Government.

At the Opening Ceremony, Minister Väyrynen will deliver a speech that focuses on sustainable development and the significance of development of the information society in Africa. Finland has supported preparations for the 14th African Union Summit, the theme of which is "Information and Communication Technologies in Africa: Challenges and Prospects for Development", by placing an information and communication technologies expert at the African Union's disposal. Finland is also planning wider support in the information and communication technologies sector to the African Union.

Väyrynen's agenda also includes a meeting with the Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, Jean Ping. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss possibilities to increase cooperation in the field of sustainable development between Finland and the African Union.

In addition, the intention is for Väyrynen to meet with, among others, the Foreign Ministers of Nigeria and Zambia and the President of the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Additional information: Markus Ojakoski, Senior Political Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 50 045 9009, and Deputy Director General Heikki Tuunanen, mobile tel. +358 40 743 3464