Finland is considered a prosperous Western country, and accordingly, it has been allocating approximately two percent of its annual state budget to development aid. However, in the program of the government that came into power this summer, this funding has been significantly reduced.
At the same time, Finland has decided to change the conditions of its development cooperation. The most notable changes include directing aid to Ukraine and, conversely, denying it to countries that support Russia in its illegal war against its neighboring country. This applies to countries such as Ethiopia, Mozambique, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan if they do not change their stance on the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Furthermore, the Finnish government has decided that development aid will not be granted to countries that do not accept their own citizens without a residence permit in Finland. This is a significant change in Finnish asylum policy, which has led to an increasing number of undocumented migrants from developing countries staying in the country, along with a rise in certain types of crimes.
According to recent information, Finland's western neighbor Sweden has set an example. It announced excluding Mali from its development aid due to its support for Russia.
Hopefully, Finland will also make similar decisions to streamline its development aid policy and humanitarian immigration policy. At the same time, the Finnish government has decided to increase incentives for skilled labor immigration.
Therefore, it is crucial for a country with high taxation and a Western-average salary level to maintain attractive features for quality labor — features such as a safe society and a balanced public economy that enables good services. Both of these goals can be achieved through the designed changes described above.
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