MFA: Centre for Mediation to be set up at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

The Centre aims to strengthen Finland’s expertise and capacity in mediation matters, to coordinate the activities of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a more systematic manner as well as to coordinate collaboration with other actors. Mediation requires broad cooperation at several levels, including between states, international and other organisations, more informal actors and grassroots actors.

“Peace is a very highly competitive field with several different actors of varying quality. In addition to conflicts between countries, internal tensions and conflicts within states demand more attention. The Centre for Mediation will promote the integration of mediation expertise and know-how into the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,” says Ministry for Foreign Affairs Haavisto.

The Centre for Mediation will be set up in the Political Department of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and it will start its operations on 1 October 2020. The Centre will be headed by Ambassador Teemu Turunen.

“Sustainable peace can be built only by means of tackling the underlying causes of conflicts that lead to political, economic and social problems, which is why the link to broader development cooperation and humanitarian assistance is important,” Ambassador Turunen says.

In accordance with the Government Programme, the new Centre will not only develop structures and capacities and fund peace processes but also promote the participation of Finns in international mediation and dialogue processes.

Inquiries: Ambassador Teemu Turunen, tel. +358 50 5751953, teemu.turunen@formin.fi

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