Chairperson of the African Union to visit Finland

Office of the President of the Republic of Finland
Press Release 18 March 2010

Mr Jean Ping, the Chairperson of the African Union, will arrive in Finland for a working visit on 22-23 March at the invitation of President of the Republic Tarja Halonen.

President Halonen will receive Mr Ping at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday, 23 March. The programme will include official discussions and a working lunch. The discussions will deal with timely regional and international issues such as the crises in the Horn of Africa as well as preparations for the EU-Africa Summit. Also on the agenda will be the state of international climate negotiations and preparation for a UN conference that will review the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

During the visit Mr Ping will also meet with Speaker of Parliament Sauli Niinistö, Minister of the Environment Paula Lehtomäki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Paavo Väyrynen and Minister for Foreign Affairs Alexander Stubb.

The African Union (AU) is an organization of 53 African nations that was formed in 2002 as a successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU's executive body is the Commission, which Mr Ping has chaired since 2008. Before that he served as Foreign Minister of Gabon and President of the United Nations General Assembly, among other things.

The significance of the African Union as a cooperation body has grown strongly in recent years. The AU has played a key role in increasing Africa's own responsibility for crises and conflicts on the continent. Africa now speaks more often with a single voice in international connections. An example of this is how Africa has acted together in international climate negotiations.

Finland is strengthening its cooperation with the African Union. Finnish development cooperation funds are being used to support a three-year project aimed at developing the AU's peacekeeping activities, for example.