Finland’s Bilateral Relations with Southeast Asian Countries

Finland has strengthened its relations with a number of countries in Southeast Asia through extensive and diverse cooperation in various fields. This cooperation includes various initiatives aimed at enhancing technical, economic and social exchanges between Finland and partner countries in the region.

One important step in increasing cooperation between Finland and Indonesia is the signing of a memorandum of understanding in the energy sector on May 24 2022. This memorandum of understanding is an effort to develop technical and economic cooperation in the energy sector between the two countries.

In addition, the aim of this memorandum of understanding is to increase access for Finnish companies to the Indonesian market, which is an important step in expanding economic cooperation between the two countries.

Previously, Indonesia and Finland had bilateral cooperation in the energy sector between 2015 and 2022. The renewal of the agreement was carried out in a virtual meeting between the Finnish Minister of Economy and the Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources in November 2020.

This cooperation covers a wide range of areas, including clean energy technologies such as bioenergy, hydrogen, and circular economy, as well as energy efficiency, smart energy solutions, and research and development cooperation.

Apart from Indonesia, Finland has also collaborated closely with Vietnam in the water sector since the 1980s. The two countries have built cooperation that focuses on managing Vietnam’s forest resources, which shows Finland’s commitment to supporting development and environmental conservation efforts in Vietnam.

On the other hand, Finland’s cooperation with Myanmar is focused on sustainable development, with special emphasis on promoting peace, the foundations of democracy, and children’s rights and opportunities to receive quality education.

This reflects Finland’s commitment to supporting social and political development in Myanmar, as well as in ensuring the basic rights of the Myanmar people are fulfilled.

Overall, Finland’s cooperation with Southeast Asian countries shows Finland’s commitment to supporting regional development and cooperation in the region.

Through diverse and comprehensive initiatives, Finland seeks to strengthen its relations with partner countries in Southeast Asia and contribute to sustainable and inclusive development in the region.

Source: Bappenas