Forward Thinking hold meetings in Helsinki, 21st - 22nd September 2015

The Director, Oliver McTernan, and Political Dialogues Director, Julian Weinberg, travelled to Helsinki to hold meetings with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the Helsinki Policy Forum and its forthcoming activities. The Helsinki Policy Forum is a programme managed by Forward Thinking and supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland which offers a safe space for three key constituencies – parliamentarians and political party leaders; senior figures from foreign ministries and economists – from across the Western and MENA/Gulf region to come together for discussions aimed at deepening understanding of shared challenges and developing more informed policies.  Oliver and Julian also met with Timo Soini, Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, to provide an in-depth update on the work of the Forum and Forward Thinking more generally.The visit was extremely productive and provided a valuable opportunity to prepare for the coming period.