PH Ambassador Joins ASEAN Ambassadors For a Call on the Foreign Minister of Finland

(From left) Malaysian Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Mohamed Ariff Bin Mohamed Ali, Vietnamese Ambassador Thi Thanh Bình Pham, Indonesian Ambassador Ratu Silvy Gayatri, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Maria Valtonen, Thai Ambvassador Chavanart Thangsumphant, Philippine Ambassador Maria Lumen B. Isleta, and Deputy Director General Juha Niemi of the Finnish inistry of Foreign Affairs (photo from Stockholm PE)

STOCKHOLM  31 October 2023 - Philippine Ambassador Maria Lumen B. Isleta joined other ASEAN Ambassadors during a courtesy call on the new Foreign Minister of Finland, Elina Maria Valtonen on 24 October 2023.

Minister Valtonen, who assumed as Foreign Minister under the National Coalition Party in June 2023, shared that Finland’s decision to join NATO was mainly due to the changing security environment in Europe, which was backed by the Finnish people. She stressed the importance of the Indo-Pacific region for Europe and for Finland, and expressed the hope that the region remains stable. She also shared that Finland is working on its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

ASEAN Ambassadors expressed condolences on the recent passing of former President and Nobel peace prize laureate Martti Ahtisaari. They also welcomed the developments with respect to Finland’s accession to the TAC.

For the Philippines, Ambassador Isleta underscored that follow up actions on key focus areas as discussed during the successful conduct of the 7th Philippines-Finland Political Consultations in January 2023 in Manila will be pursued. She also highlighted that the next bilateral consultations is set to be hosted by Finland in 2025 - an auspicious year as the Philippines and Finland will by then commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Ambassador Isleta also took the opportunity to thank the Foreign Minister for Finland’s statement of support for the 2016 Arbitral Award concerning the South China Sea. She also shared that the Philippines is set to reopen its Embassy in Helsinki in 2024. END

For more information, https://stockholmpe.dfa.gov.ph/