MFA: Foreign Minister Haavisto to attend the Ukraine Reform Conference in Toronto

The conference will also discuss the political situation in Ukraine in the run-up to the early parliamentary elections in Ukraine on 21 July. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was elected in April 2019, will attend the conference.

“The future of Ukraine is important for the security of Europe as a whole. It is essential to put an end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. A sustainable ceasefire and the implementation of the Minsk Agreements are of key importance,” Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto says.

The Minister considers that improving the humanitarian situation in eastern Ukraine is also important.

“We support President Zelenskyy’s views concerning the improvement of the humanitarian situation and people's living conditions in eastern Ukraine. The most vulnerable people, like children and the elderly, suffer from the situation the most,” Haavisto says.

Finland emphasises the significance of the reforms in Ukraine for the improvement of people’s living conditions and for the strengthening resilience of the society. Finland supports Ukraine through development cooperation and crisis management activities, by participating in mine clearance, and by providing humanitarian assistance.  Finland has played a particularly strong role in efforts to reform the education sector and to improve energy efficiency in Ukraine. 

This is the third Ukraine Reform Conference. The previous conferences were held in London in 2017 and in Copenhagen in 2018. The Toronto Conference will be co-hosted by Canada and Ukraine. Besides Member States of the EU, the conference will be attended by the USA, Turkey and Norway, for example, and by several international organisations, including the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OECD, the World Bank and NATO. 

Inquiries: Jarno Lappalainen, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 400 536 973, and Päivi Nevala, Counsellor, Unit for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tel. +358 50 347 1085.

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