ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday started a visit to Finland, where he will meet with his Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen.

During Fidan’s two-day visit to the Nordic country, he will hold a series of meetings, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

In addition to meeting Valtonen – whom he hosted in Antalya this May at an informal NATO foreign ministers’ meeting – Fidan is also expected to meet with Jussi Halla-aho, the Finnish parliament speaker.

During the visit, Fidan is scheduled to deliver a speech at an event in the Finnish parliament titled Türkiye–Finland Cooperation.

He is also expected to meet with members of the Tatar community – an ethnic Turkic group – living in Finland.

Bilateral and multilateral cooperation

During his talks, Fidan is expected to underline the importance of deepening and diversifying Turkish-Finnish relations based on mutual benefits, particularly in the fields of trade, investment, and the defense industries.

He will express Ankara's readiness to enhance cooperation with Helsinki in areas such as information technology, cybersecurity, financial technologies, and renewable energy.

Stressing that joint initiatives in the Arctic region could bring a new vision to bilateral relations, Fidan will underline that Turkish citizens and the Tatar community in Finland represent strong human ties between the two nations.

Fidan is also expected to express appreciation for Finland supporting Türkiye’s EU membership bid and share Ankara’s expectations for advancing Türkiye–EU relations – particularly on modernizing the Customs Union and progress in the visa liberalization dialogue.

He will also stress the need for Türkiye and Finland to continue their joint efforts for global peace on multilateral platforms, noting the significance of the Friends of Mediation Groups established under the UN and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), co-chaired by both countries.

Fidan will state that Türkiye believes its new NATO ally Finland will make significant contributions to Euro-Atlantic security, and express the country's readiness to give full support within the alliance.

He will highlight Ankara's indispensable role in Europe’s security architecture, given its military strength and strategic location.

Fidan will reaffirm the country's readiness to play a facilitating role in international efforts and diplomatic processes aimed at achieving a fair and lasting peace in the Russia–Ukraine war.

On Gaza, Fidan will stress the critical importance of respecting the ceasefire and ensuring the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid.

He will draw attention to the need to improve the fragile humanitarian situation in the region and accelerate international efforts for Gaza’s reconstruction.

Turkish-Finnish relations

Diplomatic relations between the two nations were established in 1924 with the signing of a Treaty of Friendship.

In 2010, Türkiye and Finland jointly launched the Mediation for Peace initiative under the UN.

The trade volume between the two countries last year reached approximately $1.8 billion.

Around 123,000 Finnish tourists visited Türkiye in 2024.

The countries became allies after Finland gained NATO membership in 2023. Finland has the longest border with Russia of any NATO country – 1,300 kilometers (808 miles).

In 2024, Finnish President Alexander Stubb paid an official visit to Türkiye.

The Turkish community in Finland, with a population of approximately 18,000, is an important component in bilateral relations, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.