This weekend, foreign ministers from the five Nordic countries and 11 African countries are meeting in Hämeenlinna.
The meeting being held at Aulanko, a nineteenth-century manor house and conservation area across Lake Vanaja from Häme Castle, 100 kilometres north of Helsinki.
Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja is hosting the two-day meeting, with Development Minister Heidi Hautala taking part on Sunday.
The ministers are discussing the Nordic welfare model, economic growth and African conflicts.
"Democracy, human rights and good governance"
The countries taking part are Benin, Botswana, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. According to a Foreign Ministry statement, “the participating African nations have particularly emphasised their efforts to advance democracy, human rights and good governance.”
On Friday Tuomioja held separate talks with South African Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane in Helsinki. Along with bilateral ties, they discussed issues related to peace and security in Africa, as well as international peace mediation and the arms trade.
The Hämeenlinna meeting is the twelfth in a series begun in 2001 by Swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh. She was assassinated two years later. Last year’s meeting was held in Benin, while the 2005 conference was held in Espoo, Finland.
