Strengthening Vietnam-Finland cooperation across various sectors
WVR - The visit to Vietnam by Finland's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Trade, Jarno Syrjala, on May 28–29 marks a significant step in concretizing the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, focusing on enhancing economic and trade cooperation and business connectivity.
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| Finland's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for International Trade, Jarno Syrjala. (Photo: Yen Vi) |
Taking place amid positively developing bilateral relations, the visit not only demonstrates Finland's growing interest in the Vietnamese market but also opens up numerous opportunities for substantive cooperation in key economic sectors.
Positive message
During the visit, Deputy Minister Jarno Syrjala held meetings with several key Vietnamese ministries and sectors such as the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Ministry of Construction, and Ministry of Public Security, as well as with numerous enterprises.
The discussions focused on priority cooperation areas such as sustainable energy development, strategic infrastructure, digital transformation, reliable telecommunications, and urban development.
These topics reflect the shared orientation of the two countries in promoting economic growth linked with innovation and sustainable development.
Notably, the discussions also touched on security aspects in digital infrastructure development, including 5G technology and satellites, highlighting a comprehensive and long-term approach to bilateral cooperation.
Assessing the most important outcome of the visit, Deputy Minister Jarno Syrjala stated that the greatest value lies in re-establishing dialogue and laying the groundwork for long-term connections: “The important thing is that we can connect Finnish businesses with partners in Vietnam, laying the foundation for more extensive cooperation in the future.”
According to him, the visit also helped the Finnish side gain a clearer understanding of contemporary Vietnam and its development goals.
“Awareness of who Vietnam is today and what you are aiming for has become much clearer after this visit. We have an extremely positive message to bring back home,” he emphasized.
Bringing the strategic partnership to substance
During the official visit to Finland by General Secretary To Lam in October 2025, the leaders of the two countries agreed to elevate Vietnam-Finland relations to a Strategic Partnership. Deputy Minister Jarno Syrjala believes this is a particularly significant development for Helsinki.
“Our bilateral relations are better than ever. We are very proud to be the first Nordic country to establish a Strategic Partnership with Vietnam,” Syrjala shared, revealing that both sides are currently developing an action plan to concretize the new cooperation framework with more practical programs and projects.
According to Deputy Minister Jarno Syrjala, Finland is globally recognized for its strengths in clean technology, energy, digitization, and sustainable development. Meanwhile, Vietnam is emerging as a dynamic economy with significant demands for infrastructure, energy, and digital transformation.
This complementarity opens up special cooperation potential in key sectors, including: Clean energy and energy transition, infrastructure and smart urban development, logistics, maritime and supply chain digitization, telecommunications technology and digital transformation, or sustainable agriculture and environmental technology.
These are also the areas prioritized for promotion through engagements during this visit. The active participation of Finnish enterprises in Vietnam has helped clarify opportunities for implementing practical projects, especially in key sectors with many large-scale projects.
Beyond digital transformation, Syrjala also expressed interest in cooperation on sustainable development and climate change response. Finland currently aims to become a carbon-neutral country by 2035, with about 96% of its current electricity production already carbon-free.
“We have developed technical solutions to reduce emissions and promote environmentally friendly technologies. This is certainly an area where both sides can deepen cooperation,” he noted.
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| Deputy Minister Jarno Syrjala poses with representatives of some media agencies in Vietnam. (Source: Embassy of Finland in Vietnam) |
The role of Vietnam in the region
Assessing Vietnam's position in Southeast Asia, Deputy Minister Jarno Syrjala believes Vietnam is emerging as a dynamic economy with an increasingly important role in regional growth and connectivity.
“Vietnam contributes positively to regional stability, economic integration, and multilateral cooperation forums,” Syrjala affirmed, also appreciating Vietnam's active role in ASEAN and its chairmanship of the CPTPP Council this year.
In this spirit, Finland is also promoting the European Union (EU) to enhance dialogue with the CPTPP to expand economic cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region.
Besides economic and technological cooperation, education and people-to-people exchanges continue to be seen as important foundations for the long-term relationship between the two countries. Currently, about 16,000 Vietnamese people live in Finland, creating natural bridges between the two nations.
Particularly, Deputy Minister Jarno Syrjala highly values the role of the younger generation, believing they will continue to nurture and shape Vietnam-Finland relations in the future.
“The future lies with the young. We need to invest in the new generation through education, exchange programs, and university cooperation,” the diplomat emphasized.
