POSTPONED: Era of New Cooperation – The Contribution of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland to Strengthen Multilateral Cooperation

Kai Sauer is the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Security Policy at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Previously, he has worked as Permanent Representative of Finland to the UN in New York (2014–2019) and as Ambassador of Finland to Indonesia, Timor-Leste and ASEAN (2010–2014). Ambassador Sauer has also served as Director at the Unit for UN Affairs of the MFA, as Senior Adviser to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, President Martti Ahtisaari in UNOSEK and as Director of the Unit for the Western Balkans of the MFA. He holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences from the University of Tampere and a Doctorate of Humane Letters (h.c.), Northland College, Wisconsin.

Sebastian Groth was appointed Director for Policy Planning at the German Federal Foreign Office in April 2019. His previous assignments were as Deputy Director for Policy Planning (September 2016 – March 2019), and Head of the State Secretaries’ Office (2014 – 2016). From 2010 – 2014, he worked as Adviser for Foreign Policy and French-German relations in the Cabinet of the French Prime Ministers François Fillon, Jean-Marc Ayrault et Manuel Valls. From 2004 – 2010 he was member of the Policy Planning Staff, working on energy and climate policy and on global economic affairs. In 2001, he started his diplomatic career as First Secretary at the German Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, working on Somalia, South Sudan and Burundi and as Press and Cultural Attaché. Sebastian Groth studied economics and sociology in Cologne and in Montpellier/ France.

Katja Creutz is the Programme Director of FIIA’s Global Security programme. Her main field of expertise is international law and especially issues of responsibility, human rights and global governance. Dr Creutz holds a Doctor of Laws degree and a Master of Laws programme degree from the University of Helsinki and a Master of Political Science from Åbo Akademi University. She has previously worked as Research Fellow at the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights of the University of Helsinki. Her recent publications include ‘Nordic Experiences in the UN Human Rights Council: A Tour d’Horizon of 2019 with Iceland and Denmark’ and ‘State Responsibility in the International Legal Order: A Critical Appraisal’ published by Cambridge University Press.

Saara-Sofia Sirén is a member of the Parliament of Finland for the National Coalition Party since 2015. She is currently the Chairman of the Board for the UN Association of Finland. She is a member to both the Grand Committee and the Environment Committee of the Parliament. Ms Sirén has acquired a Master of Science and a Master of Arts degree from Turku School of Economics, University of Turku, in the fields of economics and future studies.

Yuri Birjulin is the current UN Youth Delegate of Finland. He is also the International Affairs and EU Advocacy Adviser at the National Union of University Students in Finland. As a Youth Delegate, Birjulin has functioned as the official representative of Finland at the UN Youth Resolution negotiations and has contributed to the preparations of Finland’s Africa Strategy. Previously, Mr. Birjulin has worked at YLE as a Russian-language news anchor, as well as at the Embassy of Finland in Pretoria, South Africa.