Finnish and Russian interior ministers to meet

Minister of the Interior Maria Ohisalo will meet her colleague, Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev in Helsinki today. The purpose is to discuss cooperation between Finland and Russia in the field of migration and crime prevention. The meeting is part of the cooperation programme launched by the interior ministries in 2018.

As far as migration is concerned, the meeting's agenda includes the state of play on migration and the fight against illegal entry. In the discussions on crime prevention, the ministers will focus in particular on combating drug crime and organised crime. The meeting will also provide an overview of environmental offences and the Russian e-visa introduced at the beginning of October and its development.

The Finnish and Russian interior ministers meet annually, with Russia and Finland hosting the meeting alternately. These regular meetings are linked to the cooperation programme launched by the countries in 2018, the purpose of which is to intensify bilateral cooperation in police and migration matters.

Various meetings and the exchange of views on situation awareness have been considered very useful. The Finnish-Russian coordination group on cooperation in combating crime convened in Petrozavodsk in May, and a similar meeting of the migration coordination group was held in Petrozavodsk in September.

Inquiries:

Minna Hulkkonen, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 29 548 8688, [email protected]
Jarno Lappalainen, Special Adviser to the Minister, tel. +358 400 536 973, [email protected]