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President and Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discuss Finland's military assistance to France, the US request for contributions to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, and Finland's candidature for a seat in the UN Security Council

Government Communications Department
Publication date 11.12.2015 13.56
Press release 666/2015

On Friday 11 December, the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy discussed concrete measures in response to the request for aid and assistance submitted by France, following the terrorist attacks in Paris.

In response to France's request, Finland is offering to continue and expand its contribution in the training operation in Erbil in northern Iraq as well as to expand its contribution in the UNIFIL operation in Lebanon. It has been decided already earlier that Finland's participation in the UN crisis management operation in Mali (MINUSMA) would be strengthened to a maximum of 20 persons. On Friday, the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy decided to explore a further increase to this number. The Ministry of Defence has transferred to France a number of flight hours from its share in the Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC).  

The meeting also discussed the request addressed by the United States to the countries of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, including Finland, to increase their support for action against ISIL. The decision to continue and expand Finland’s contribution in the training operation in northern Iraq, as outlined by the President of the Republic and the Ministerial Committee on Foreign and Security Policy, also responds to the request by the United States. Possibilities to support the stabilisation of Iraq financially will also be examined. The efforts to counter ISIL are based on UN Security Council decisions.

The meeting took note that, based on the principle of rotation among the Nordic countries, Finland will be seeking a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the term 2029-2030. The elections will be held in summer 2028. The confirmation of the candidature at this early stage is part of Finland's strong commitment to the UN's activities.

Inquiries: Jukka Salovaara, Director General, tel. +358 295 350 636 Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Esa Pulkkinen, Director-General, tel. +358 295 140 300, Ministry of Defence