News

Working visit of Chairman of Investigative Committee of Russia to Republic of Finland

Today, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia had a working meeting with National Police Commissioner of the Republic of Finland Seppo Kolehmainen.

During the meeting, the chiefs of the agencies raised a whole number of important issues of the bilateral cooperation, summed up this year’s interaction, and outlined plans for joint work in 2020. The parties also discussed the possibility to sign the draft of the Law Enforcement Cooperation Agreement between the Investigative Committee of Russia and the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Finland in 2020. Moreover, the Chairmen talked through opportunities of a teachers’ and students’ exchange, as well as educational experience exchange between the Academies of the Investigative Committee and the Police Academy of Finland.

Alexander Bastrykin and Seppo Kolehmainen discussed the Second Additional Protocol to the European Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance coming into force on January 1, 2020. The Russian Federation, which is already a party to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters and its additional protocol, signed the second additional protocol to the Convention on 1 December 2017. The parties noted that this document was developed to achieve effective cooperation under the Convention in order to modernize and supplement a number of its provisions by expanding the grounds for requests for legal assistance, the work of joint investigation teams, as well as simplifying and accelerating the provision of mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

In his turn, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia invited Seppo Kolehmainen to deliver lectures in the Moscow Academy of the Investigative Committee of Russian Federation, mentioning his positive experience of lecturing at the St. Petersburg Academy. The National Police Commissioner of the Republic of Finland accepted this invitation with gratitude and highlighted the importance of the upbringing of future generations of law enforcement professionals.

Following the meeting, Alexander Bastrykin and Seppo Kolehmainen wished each other a happy New Year and expressed mutual certainty in the future comprehensive strengthening of the law enforcement cooperation between Russia and Finland.