The Finnish coalition government chaired by Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) decided on Tuesday to evacuate 128 more Afghan employees to Finland.
The decision, adopted in an extraordinary session of the cabinet, will allow the transfer to Finland for reception for humanitarian reasons of another 45 employees of the Finnish Embassy in Kabul, including their families, and 83 security guards and family members, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The acceptance of the 83 security guards means backing down on the decision previously adopted by the government, which until now had excluded them from the list of personnel to be evacuated because they had been employed through a subcontractor.
They are employees of the company Tahiri Protection Risk Management Consulting, who have been responsible for the security of the staff of the Finnish embassy in Kabul and their families.
Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, who had previously said that people who have worked for Finland through subcontractors would not be evacuated, announced the change of decision at a press conference Tuesday evening.
4-year residence permit
The new decision complements those adopted on August 13 and 15 and brings the total number of Afghans on the lists to be evacuated to Finland to 298.
The previous maximum number was 170 people.
The evacuees will arrive in Finland on board charter flights paid for by the state. All of them will receive a residence permit for humanitarian reasons valid for 4 years.
