On November 17-18, a delegation headed by the Secretary of State of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, Mr. Samuli Virtanen, visited the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia. The delegation included H.E. Ms. Arja Makkonen, the Ambassador for the South Caucasus of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
On 17 November, the delegation met with the Acting Head of EUMM Georgia, Mr. Erik Høeg, who highlighted the importance of Finnish contribution to the Mission. Mr. Høeg expressed appreciation for the excellent work done by Finnish nationals working in the EUMM, highlighting the fact that the Finnish contingent of 14 seconded staff members is fully gender-balanced with an equal number of men and women deployed in Georgia. The delegation were given a briefing about the Missions mandate and present situation on the ground, followed by a discussion with the Acting Head of the EUMM and colleagues on dynamics and prospects for conflict management. Mr. Samuli Virtanen expressed his appreciation for the work done by the EUMM and reiterated Finland’s strong support to the Mission.
On 18 November, Mr. Virtanen and the Finnish delegation joined a patrol with the EUMM Field Office in Gori to get a first hand impression of the latest developments at the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with South Ossetia. Mr. Virtanen was deeply impressed about the human dimension of the borderisation and how these activities affect people living along the Administrative Boundary Line. (Small).jpg)
