Pekka Haavisto, Special European Envoy and Finnish Foreign Minister, arrives in Sudan to consult on tensions in the region.

The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Sudan is proud to announce the arrival of His Excellency Mr. Pekka Haavisto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland. Mr. Haavisto was mandated by His Excellency Mr. Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union to visit Sudan and Ethiopia as Special EU envoy, to help reduce the tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia and to see how the international community could provide support in finding peaceful solutions to the current crises facing the region.

Mr. Haavisto is expected to be in Khartoum from 7 to 8 February and will then travel onwards to Ethiopia.

It is expected that Mr. Pekka Haavisto will hold meetings with their excellences Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, Prime Minister, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo Deputy Chairman of the Sovereignty Council, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources.

He is also expected to visit a camp where Ethiopians fleeing the violence in the Tigray region have sought refuge.

In August 2019, Mr. Haavisto participated in the signing of the Constitutional Document as Special Representative of the European Union. Earlier, he served as Special Representative of the European Union for Darfur.

Mr. Haavisto is 62 years old. He has worked before as Minister of the Environment and International Cooperation, was a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic of Finland twice and was a member of the Finnish Parliament before being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2019. Mr. Haavisto also worked extensively for the UN Environmental Programme.