Report on Finland’s activities in Afghanistan submitted to Parliament

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has submitted a report on Finland’s activities in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021 to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said the Ministry in a press release on Thursday.

The report gives a concise overview of Finland’s activities in Afghanistan in terms of military crisis management, civilian crisis management and development cooperation.

It assesses the objectives, results and effectiveness of Finland’s activities. In addition, the report has a separate section on the evacuation operation of August 2021.

Finland’s activities in Afghanistan were part of the activities of the international community. Finland sought to stabilise the security situation in Afghanistan, to promote reconstruction, sustainable development and human rights in Afghanistan, to improve international security and Finland’s national security, and to strengthen the international position and agency of Finland and the European Union. The activities were exceptional in many ways and the conditions were extremely difficult throughout Finland’s presence in Afghanistan.

“Finland’s activities in Afghanistan strengthened our international partnerships and reinforced our position as a responsible, credible and reliable operator. Our involvement in the international community’s activities in Afghanistan was an important learning experience for Finland, and it has influenced our crisis management legislation, our development cooperation and the activities of the Finnish Defence Forces. While we did not achieve fully or sustainably our key objectives in Afghanistan, many of the development outcomes are such that no one can erase them,” said Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto.

The report by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is part of a more extensive central government assessment of Finland’s presence in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2021.

The Ministry of Defence published a similar report in August 2022. A comprehensive assessment of Finland’s crisis management activities in Afghanistan, conducted within the framework of the Government’s analysis, assessment and research activities, will be completed in 2023.