Visit to Denmark and Finland

I will be visiting Denmark and Finland from 28 January to 1 February 2018.

 

In Denmark, I will meet experts on investment for sustainable development and Australian academics and alumni based in Denmark.  I will visit UN City where I will meet HRH Crown Princess Mary and United Nations agency representatives to discuss issues around women’s political and economic empowerment and key issues of action for gender equality such as ending violence against women.  I will also visit the UNICEF Supply Division, the world’s largest humanitarian warehouse, to discuss product innovation, emergency response capabilities and issues of particular concern to children.

 

I will meet my Danish counterpart, Minister for Development Cooperation Ulla Tørnæs; heads of Denmark’s State of Green; and the Confederation of Danish Industries to discuss development activities and cooperation.

 

In Finland, a highlight of my visit will be co-chairing the Global Action on Disability (GLAD) Network meeting in Helsinki on 31 January 2018.  GLAD is a dynamic initiative that brings together donors and private sector organisations from around the world with the objective of increasing the involvement of persons with disabilities in international development and humanitarian action.

 

Around one billion people around the world live with a disability.  In developing countries and humanitarian emergencies, they are often first to be left behind.  Addressing this is central to Australia’s approach to development assistance and humanitarian action, so I am honoured again this year to co-chair the meeting of the GLAD Network, which is at the cutting edge of disability-inclusive international development and humanitarian activity.

 

In Finland, I will also meet senior officials and experts from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and Viasala, a leading producer of environmental and industrial measurement systems, to discuss their project developing critical weather forecasting and warning services in Pacific island states.  I will meet representatives of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), and I will meet Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Mykkännen and other Finnish experts to discuss development priorities and approaches.