Esteemed Heads of Missions, Ambassadors,
Contemporaries often fail to recognise that they are living in a significant period of time. They keep on working and taking care of business as usual. Only later, they come to realize that the course of events and the decisions made went down in history and shaped the future.
We tend to use catchwords to describe historical eras: the Concert of Europe, the Cold War, Détente. Undoubtedly, we are again living a period with far-reaching consequences. But what expression would best summarise the identity of this particular period? The world is becoming increasingly multipolar. The international order is being challenged. Disorder increases. The post-Cold War era has come to an end, but it is still unclear, what the new era will look like. This story has not been written yet.
As before in international politics, the story will be built upon three core elements. These elements are values, interests and power. These are the foundations on which every state builds its foreign and security policy. The relations between countries also evolve on all these levels. This is the playing field for Finland as well.
Finland’s toolbox consists of values and interests in particular. As a small nation, we understand that our power is limited. Therefore, with our actions, we must always aim at maximising our influence.
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Firstly, everything stems from values. Many of you surely share my sentiment that the values applied in international politics today have become harder. In the past few years, the agenda has been dominated by difficult issues. Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East, trade wars and increasingly transactional foreign policy. We in Finland stick by our own values. They are based on democracy, equality and the rule of law. At the same time, we understand that our values are not shared by all 200 nation states in the world.
Secondly, all states have their own interests. In this time and age, the interests of great powers are increasingly bare and narrower than before. We are faced with the very basic realities: war and peace, security and well-being, cooperation and confrontation. Our most important interest has remained unchanged. As the Government Report on Finnish Foreign and Security Policy states, our interest is to safeguard Finland’s independence and territorial integrity, to avoid becoming involved in a military conflict and to improve the security and well-being of the people of Finland.
Thirdly, power and how it is wielded determine who will lead, who will follow, who will oppose. As we know, power essentially means the ability to make others act in the way you want. Either by using hard power – carrots and sticks. Or by means of soft power – by influencing people’s attitudes. As I stated above, as a small nation our power, the hard one in particular, is limited. As part of the European Union, NATO and other groups, our power grows. And by practising clever diplomacy, we can increase our influence. That is what my work is about. That is what the work of the Government and the work of Parliament is about. And that is what your work as diplomats, is about. In other words, it is about increasing influence.
I will give you three examples.
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First, Ukraine.
Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine continues for the fourth year. Over these years, the situation on the battlefield has at times developed in a more positive direction, at times taken steps backwards. However, it has become increasingly evident that there can only be a diplomatic solution to the war.
Over the past days and weeks, intensive efforts have been made towards such a solution, following the initiative of the President of the United States Donald Trump. Europe has shown strong unity in these discussions and, of course, solidarity with Ukraine. It is still too early to say how and when the war will end. Ukraine and, at the same time, the Western states supporting it will face fundamental issues. The solutions made in these matters will have far-reaching consequences. There are no perfect solutions to wars. However, together with our allies, we are working with all our strength to ensure that Ukraine would have a strong negotiating position. Currently, we are discussing security guarantees and arrangements that would strengthen Ukraine’s defence capability and sovereignty. There will be many ways to contribute, and Finland will be involved in one way or another.
Recently, Finland has been one of the parties involved in the discussions between states much bigger than us. The opportunity to present our views and hear those of others is very valuable to us. As Foreign Minister Valtonen has often stated, the war in Ukraine is also our war. The war and how it is resolved is one of the key issues of our foreign and security policy.
Therefore, we are using our influence. At the same time, we are aware of the realities – of the fact that we cannot punch above our weight everywhere and all the time. We must choose our priorities. We realize that the opportunity to influence may close as suddenly as it has opened. Influence must be earned again every single day.
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Second, the Middle East.
In the Middle East, Finland’s goals and policy remain clear and unchanged: we support the two-state solution and contribute to achieving it. Israel’s actions and the increasingly desolate conditions in Gaza, and the continuing rule of Hamas and the fate of the hostages have made many people ask what would be the best way of achieving a solution allowing peaceful and safe coexistence of two independent states. Which decisions would take us closer to reaching our goal? We cannot address this issue without asking what would be the right time for Finland to recognize the State of Palestine. I made my position known earlier in the summer.
Implementing the two-state solution requires not only that the State of Palestine is recognized but also that the State of Israel is recognized by those that have not done so. Efforts must be made towards this end as well. A positive step in the matter was the international declaration given in New York in June. In the declaration, the Arab countries in the region jointly committed, for the first time, to Israeli security, calling for Hamas to release all hostages, end its rule of the Gaza Strip and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian administration.
This is not an easy question, nor is it black and white. In the Middle East crisis, Finland’s influence is very limited. The war and suffering in the region cannot be ended with decisions made by us. Still, we must ask what we can do. The Global South in particular is observing whether Europe will act according to its words and values. It is also in our interests to do the right thing.
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As the third example, I highlight our relationship with two leading superpowers, the United States and China.
With the U.S., we share the traditional, Western value base. The U.S. is one of Finland’s most significant trading partners and our strongest ally. It is in our interests that we at all times maintain good and direct relations with the U.S. Currently, this is the case.
In recent years, we have enhanced our cooperation in many key sectors, including AI and quantum technologies, critical minerals and the defence industry. We have made agreements that will last over time, such as the Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA). We have made determined efforts to strengthen our relations with the U.S. at the state level. We have established connections with the U.S. Congress. I have personally kept in close contact with the U.S. President. Over the past 18 months, I have also met almost 60 U.S. senators and members of Congress. I believe that these relationships will bear fruit for a long time.
Strong relations can also stand not being in agreement about everything. As an example, I mention multilateralism, which is not only an important value for us but also one of our key interests. We defend the multilateral international system even when our ally the U.S. seems to question its value and withdraws from organisations and agreements that generate common good.
Our relations with China are different. China’s actions are guided by values that differ from ours. The lack of democracy and the single-party hegemony are difficult for us to understand. Human rights violations, on the other hand, are impossible to accept. However, it is in our interests to maintain good and working relationship with China and, in certain sectors, to enhance it further, both within the EU framework and bilaterally.
China plays a central role both in climate change mitigation and international trade. As the leading state of the Global East, it has leverage, whether we are talking about Russia’s war against Ukraine or the future of the international system. In all these topics, we have significant interests. Discussing values is also possible with China, as I did on my state visit to Beijing last autumn.
The geopolitical competition between China and the U.S. is at the core of international politics. It will define the direction of the ongoing decade. It is in Finland’s interest that China and the U.S. get along. In an ideal world, I would hope that their cooperation would strengthen international institutions and the rules-based system. That is the goal we are working for, but I must admit that right now I would not bet on it. Influence is often also about building your foreign policy for the world that is, not the world you wish it was.
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Esteemed Heads of Missions,
In other words, the world has changed. Still, I am not suggesting that we should change. We should remain who we are. We are Finland.
But it is true that we must play this game in a new way.
Diplomacy is practised in a different way than before. The change has been rapid, and it has been further accelerated by the election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States. I also believe the change to be permanent. The pace is fast, and information is often incomplete. We must tolerate uncertainty and be willing to enter situations where the outcome is uncertain. If we do not use this opportunity to influence matters, someone else will. Whether we like it or not, personal relations are becoming increasingly important in international affairs. We must invest in them at all levels.
A central part of your work is to produce analyses of matters that are essential to Finland and that support our diplomatic efforts. You must be able to understand the big picture as well as the sudden changes in situations. Behind any meaningful analysis, there are several meaningful discussions. These, on the other hand, stem from personal relations based on trust. Keep building and fostering them.
Before drawing my conclusions, I would like to raise one more matter. The work done by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is of critical importance to us in times like this. Unfortunately, in the public eye more attention has recently been paid to leadership problems and problems in working place atmosphere than the actual work you are doing. These issues must be resolved. Being an ambassador is an honour that comes with great responsibility. Every action you take represents Finland and you set an example for our young, talented diplomats and those young people still in school who dream of a diplomatic career. I would like to thank the Foreign Minister and the senior management of the Ministry for the corrective actions taken so far, and for those yet to be taken.
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Dear friends,
Finland and our system have proven their ability to function in the new era we are living in. We have shown that we are capable of adapting to change. We make decisions and draw up policies after careful consideration, but rapidly, if necessary. Cooperation with the Government, Parliament and the civil servants is based on shared goals. Foreign policy is a team sport.
Let us keep up this spirit. We can enhance our influence by remaining active. We cannot afford to wait and see how things develop and what decisions other countries make before we take action. In these hectic times, if we wait too long, we may find that there is nothing left for us to do but face the facts. We must present our ideas and pursue our interests proactively.
I would like to thank you and the whole staff at the Ministry for all your work and support. Let us work together to write the next chapter to the story of Finland. Let us also do our best to leave our mark in another story, the bigger one to be told about this time period.
Thank you.
