News
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Finland to close embassy in Pakistan
HELSINKI: Finland plans to close down its embassy in Pakistan during 2012 due to budgetary constraints, the Finnish foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The decision to shut the mission in Islamabad was part of a bigger scheme to trim the Nordic country’s network of embassies, with closures also announced in Caracas and Manila. Foreign ministry undersecretary of state Peter Stenlund told reporters the Pakistan closure was also partly due to security concerns in the capital. Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it had been informed of the decision.
“They (Finland embassy) have conveyed to us officially that they are doing so because of budgetary constraints and cost-cutting,” foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk