Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen will visit Albania, Serbia, and Kosovo on 4–5 September to enhance Finland’s political and commercial ties with its partners in the Western Balkans. Finland supports the region’s countries’ ambitions to join the EU.
During her visit, Foreign Minister Valtonen will hold meetings with the foreign ministers of Albania, Serbia, and Kosovo, as well as political leaders in these countries. The discussions will cover topics such as bilateral relations, EU enlargement, stability and security in the Western Balkans, the situation in Ukraine, and current issues related to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
In Serbia, the Minister will engage with representatives of active Finnish companies across the Western Balkans.
“Finland strongly supports the Western Balkan countries’ path to EU membership. The region’s wellbeing and stability is very important to all of Europe, including Finland,” Minister Valtonen said.
“We need to strengthen cooperation with our closest partners, especially given the current European security environment. The EU is already the closest partner of the Western Balkan countries. Finland, too, is deepening its engagement with the region,” the Minister added.
