MFA: Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai to visit Finland

MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS
http://formin.finland.fi/english

Press release 12/2017
12 May 2017

Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Karzai to visit Finland

Deputy Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Hekmat Karzai will visit Finland on 15 May. The visit programme includes political consultations between Afghanistan and Finland. Deputy Foreign Minister Karzai will meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Timo Soini and representatives from other ministries. He will also meet Afghans living in Finland.

The situation in Afghanistan is extremely difficult. Taliban holds more than one-third of the country’s territory, and recent ISIL attacks especially in Kabul have been devastating.

The stabilisation of Afghanistan is one of the priorities in Finland's foreign and security policy and development policy, and Finland is committed to long-term support for the country. The objective is that increased development in Afghanistan gradually stabilises the country and prevents it from sinking into chaos again. Finland’s objectives are promoted by means of continuous development cooperation, humanitarian aid, civil and military crisis management, and regional cooperation.

The International community, Finland included, has pledged to support Afghanistan in 2017–2020. Finland's pledge in the four years will be approximately EUR 110 million. The majority of the support will be channelled via the World Bank and UN agencies to three central sectors: law and security, development of basic services, and development of the economic infrastructure. Finland is also committed to developing the security sector in Afghanistan.

Inquiries: Johanna Jokinen-Gavidia, Desk Officer, Unit for South Asia, tel. +358 50 599 3641.

The Foreign Ministry’s email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname@formin.fi