Finland teams up with Canada for Arctic security
The Finnish President, Alexander Stubb, is on a working visit to Ottawa, Canada.
Finland and Canada are strengthening their cooperation, particularly in the Arctic. This is a direct consequence of modern geopolitics, when Russia is becoming increasingly hostile and potentially dangerous not only to Ukraine but also to its other neighbours, while the United States is acting unpredictably and turning inwards.
“We clearly share the same values with the Canadians” says president Stubb.
“I daresay this is one of our most important visits this year.”
Finland and Canada issued a joint statement outlining the next phase of their relationship. The focus is in the cooperation in the Arctic, in defence, security and resilience, and cutting-edge technology. A joint research program will be pursued, and a maritime Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed.
Information-sharing and defence cooperation is taken to the next level. Both Finland and Canada share the goal of investing 5% of GDP in defence and security by 2035, which will entail a significant expansion of their defence industrial bases.
The business delegation accompanying the President is unprecedented in scale. Around 40 Finnish companies have joined, including many major players with strong expertise in networks, satellites, critical minerals, mining and the maritime sector.
The Finnish President has elevated Finland’s diplomatic profile to new heights. With extensive international experience, both within the EU as an adviser and researcher, and in politics as a former MEP, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Prime Minister, he is regarded as an astute reader of situations and an articulate communicator with strong international connections.
However, this doesn’t always help. At the outset of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, then a professor at the European University Institute in Florence, Stubb sent an SMS to the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, urging him to “Please, stop this madness.”
It had no effect.
From the very beginning of the war, Finland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters and closest allies. President Stubb has helped position Finland’s views in many contexts where the future of Ukraine is on the agenda. This has reportedly irritated Russia.
During the weekend Stubb was in touch both with the Ukrainian president Zelelnsky and with the American president Trump and his administration.
“Finland is in a position where we can pass information between parties”, says Stubb.
Located in Kirkenes, Norway, just a few kilometres from the borders to Russia and Finland, the Barents Observer is dedicated to cross-border journalism in Scandinavia, Russia and the wider Arctic.
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