Portugal and Finland

Two new ambassadors to Monaco.

At a ceremony on 5th February in the Prince's Palace, the Polish and Finnish Ambassadors presented their credentials. Francisco Seixas Da Costa, was welcomed as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador for Portugal, and Mme Pilvi-Sisko Vierros-Villeneuve for Finland. After the ceremony, Prince Albert II received the diplomats for an audience.

Portugal and Monaco already both participate in the Union for the Mediterranean [1] (previously known as the Barcelona Process), with the aim of developing a maritime policy for the region. They also both support sustainable fishing and have similar stances regarding environmental protection.

Regarding Finland, Mme Vierros-Villeneuve succeeds Kaarlo Murto who was the first Finnish Ambassador to Monaco after diplomatic relations between the countries were established at the end of March 2007. The 2 countries share concern for humanitarian and developmental aid projects, especially relating to children, AIDS, environmental protection, culture, and high technology.