The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, met his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, in Helsinki on Tuesday, with whom he discussed the strong bilateral relations and the prospect of new areas of collaboration. The meeting, which forms part of Their Majesties the King and Queen’s State visit to Finland, served to reaffirm Spain’s commitment to the defence and security of the Arctic and the Baltic.
Despite the geographical distance, Albares stated, “we face common challenges that threaten our fundamental values and our security. Finland and Spain have found that their approaches complement each other in key areas, and this visit aims to demonstrate our commitment to the defence and security of the Arctic, as well as to reiterate our support for the initiatives Finland is undertaking alongside the EU and the Nordic countries to address these challenges”, he concluded.
On the subject of security, Albares reiterated to Valtonen Spain’s unwavering commitment to NATO and its 360-degree approach. Proof of this will be the visit to the air base and the Jaeger Brigade base, headquarters of the Multinational Staff Element of NATO’s Forward Land Forces, in which Spain has committed to participating, thereby demonstrating its support for the eastern border and the Arctic.
Spanish Polar Strategy
This visit also comes at a time when Spain’s interest in this region, together with Antarctica, will be set out in the first Spanish Polar Strategy 2026–2035, an instrument on which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to strengthen our country’s role in polar forums and in response to new challenges and opportunities.
This strategy will contribute to the promotion of peace and stability through multilateralism and cooperative governance, with a focus on climate action and environmental protection.
Bilateral Relations
Spain and Finland enjoy good bilateral relations, which are balanced in the economic sphere and offer significant untapped potential, with robust trade flows in both directions and growing investment.
Both countries share significant opportunities to deepen cooperation in strategic sectors such as renewable energy, the space sector, defence, digitalisation, quantum computing, and scientific and academic cooperation.
Furthermore, the ties between our countries go beyond purely economic matters. Last year, more than 600,000 Finns visited Spain, making our country the third most popular tourist destination and the second most popular country of destination – after Sweden – for Finns living abroad. There is significant interest in the Spanish language, and the number of people learning it is on the rise. Currently, more than 40,000 Finnish students are studying Spanish at all levels of formal education in Finland.
EU agenda
During their meeting, the ministers also addressed the main issues on the EU agenda, such as migration policy, enlargement, the multiannual financial framework, and the official status of Catalan, Galician and Basque within the European Union.
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