HELSINKI, June 11, 2025 (WAFA) – State Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Varsen Shaheen held on Wednesday political consultations with Finland’s Permanent Secretary of State Jukka Salovaara and State Undersecretary for Foreign and Security Policy Outi Holopainen at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Helsinki.

Minister Shaheen called on Finland to take practical steps in support of the high-level international conference for the implementation of the two-state solution, scheduled to be held in New York on June 17, recognize the independent State of Palestine, and exert pressure on the Israeli occupation to release the long-withheld clearance revenues.

She also called on Finland to engage with European partners to support the Palestinian government and the Gaza reconstruction plan, sanction Israel, the occupying state, by suspending the association agreement with Israel, and impose further sanctions on Israeli colonists and terrorist organizations in the West Bank, and review all agreements with Israel.

The Palestinian diplomat also called on the Finnish government to offer not only medical treatment to wounded children from the Gaza Strip in Finnish hospitals, but also scholarships for Gaza students at Finnish universities, given the complete devastation of the education sector in the Strip due to the ongoing genocidal aggression.

The Finnish diplomats expressed their concern over the grave dangers of Israeli violations against the Palestinian people, which violate international law and international humanitarian law, and reiterated Finland’s clear position on the illegality of Israeli colonies in the occupied West Bank.

They stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, the unimpeded entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, while highlighting the importance that Finland participates in the international conference at the level of the heads of state.

A.D./ K.F.