Dear Markku Jokinen,

I have learnt that you have been named the first deaf member of an advisory group to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and that you are responsible for the area of the hearing impaired. I find extremely important the Finnish approach to foreign policy and its focus on effective aid and human rights issues in the area of persons with disabilities and especially its division of areas according to individual types of disabilities.
I sincerely hope that the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the department of Human Rights and Transformation Cooperation, will support persons with disabilities. We would be grateful for an advisory group made up from representatives of various disabilities to the Ministry to be set up following an example of Finland.

Please allow me, Mr. Markku, to address you about the issue of global problematics of the hearing impaired in developing countries, which has unfortunately received little response at the European Union of the Deaf. I am delighted that you, as a permanent Chairman of the EUD, will be present at the meetings and I hope to contribute to the debates.

Please allow me, Mr. Markku, to congratulate you once more to your new appointment and to wish you a lot of success in your endeavours.

Yours sincerely
Roman Lupomesky