Finland’s new action plans set the course for transatlantic cooperation

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs launched Finland’s action plans for the United States and Canada that are in line with the Government’s Programme at the House of the Estates in a relaxed atmosphere on Wednesday, 7 December. The action plans were presented by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja. This was followed by comments from American Ambassador Bruce Oreck and Canadian Ambassador Christopher Shapardanov.

This is the first time that transatlantic relations are collected between one – or, rather, into two – sets of covers. The United States Action Plan compiled by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs assesses relations between Finland and the United States as well as the role of the United States in the world. As indicated by its title, the action plan presents a hundred and one ways to develop transatlantic relations. The action plan lists priorities, for instance, in the fields of foreign policy, economy, energy and the environment, human rights policy, innovation and research cooperation, education and culture.

The Canada Action Plan underscores how much in common these two northern countries have, such as interest in issues pertaining to the Arctic and indigenous peoples. There is still untapped potential in economic cooperation between the two countries.

Both programs also encompass the EU angle.

Relations with the United States and Canada are a priority of the Government

In launching the two action plans, Minister Erkki Tuomioja said that transatlantic relations are a priority of the Government, and that the action plans were one of the Government Programme’s goals. The various Government ministries as well as representatives from a comprehensive range of stakeholders, business and industry, research institutes and civil society organisations took part in drawing up the new action plans. The preparation process was in itself useful in bringing together actors from different areas of Finnish society. The outcome was a wide range of objectives, the implementation of which the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will monitor and carry forward together with stakeholders.

“Finland is an open society, which is reflected by the fact that we want to conduct foreign policy also together with stakeholders,” Tuomioja said.

Both ambassadors considered the action plans effective, thorough and useful. In response to the question of whether the Finland action plans compiled by the United States or Canada would have been similar, Ambassador Christopher Shapardanov of Canada replied “yes” and continued that the Government of Canada had arrived at largely the same issues, for instance, when drawing up its strategy for Northern regions.

At the reception following the launch, it transpired that the actions plans had already been missed. In response to a question from the audience concerning the timetable for implementation, Tuomioja said that it would begin immediately on Monday at 8:30 am.

United States – a hundred and one ways to develop transatlantic cooperation

Finland and the United States have many common goals in foreign policy, from the resolution of crises to improving the position of women. Tuomioja said he had met that week with Melanne Verveer, United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, and remarked on the similarity of the two countries’ objectives with regard to improving the position of women. Although the United States is also a Pacific country, its commitment to stability and well-being in Europe, too, will be important in the future.

Tuomioja said that the current economic situation shows how inextricably linked the European and American economies are. The United States is an important economic partner for Finland, for example as an export target. American innovation centres are key partners for Finnish growth companies and for Finland’s research community, and the United States can be an important source of venture capital for Finnish entrepreneurs. The green economy is a major growth industry in both countries. The aim is also to draw up a report on the importance to Finnish business and industry and to Finnish society of a possible free trade agreement between Finland and the United States.

US Ambassador Bruce Oreck stressed the importance of innovation, quoting the words of President Barack Obama: “Innovation is the currency of the 21st century.” Oreck also brought out the importance of women in combating climate change. Women control as much as 90 per cent of all consumer choices in the world. Oreck also brought up cooperation with regard to Russia, cooperation to increase energy efficiency and cooperation in the fields of education and social media.

Finland and Canada – Northern Partners

The Canada Action Plan, in Minister Tuomioja’s view, does a good job in highlighting the special features of relations between the two countries, such as Arctic cooperation, and the potential for economic relations. Canada and Finland have much in common: a northern location, a shared value base, and often similar views on many international issues.

Canadian Ambassador Shapardanov said that the Government of Canada’s Global Commerce Strategy and the Canadian Northern Strategy emphasise close cooperation with the Nordic countries and Finland in the sectors of innovation, trade, Arctic issues, the mining industry and in icebreaker expertise. Good possibilities for cooperation exist also with regard to the status of indigenous people, immigration and education.

Is it good to be a “boring country”?

Ambassador Oreck had paid attention to a point in the United States Action Plan which states that “Finland is not among the United States’ closest allies. Finland is not a key focus of attention in US foreign policy.”

Oreck said he had a fundamental disagreement with this: “It is not the case that Finland would not be a foreign policy priority to the United States. Finland is very important to the United States, so much so that the American Embassy is just beginning a 115 million dollar expansion.” A stable country like Finland is a valuable and interesting partner to the United States. This major, special investment by the US Department of State into the American Embassy in Helsinki is without parallel, and in this time of administrative budget cuts, no corresponding investments are being made anywhere else.

The discussion pondered whether Finland is a boring country – and whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Minister Tuomioja said that Finland is a peaceful Nordic country which does not cause problems. He said he was proud of the fact that, on various indicators, Finland is the “least failed state in the world”. Finland’s well-functioning administration is also an excellent reference for companies and investors coming to Finland.

Ambassador Chris Shapardanov confirmed that boring is good. Before the economic crisis, Canadian banks were criticised for being boring on banking. But it is precisely this boringness, that is to say, prudence, that allowed the banks to weather the crisis significantly better than risk-takers. “The last thing any country wants from the United States is a lot of attention, especially negative attention,” Ambassador Shapardanov stated.

Washington and Ottawa also launched the action plans

The Finnish embassies in Washington and Ottawa gathered pivotal cooperation partners at events to launch the action plans on 8 December and 7 December, respectively. In both capitals, the feedback was encouraging. The action plans were considered to be very comprehensive, and the wish to give concerted support to their implementation was evident.

The action plans: 

Finland and the United States of America: Transatlantic Cooperation (Link to another website.) (Opens New Window) 
Finland’s United States Action Plan
(PDF, MFA 7 December 2011)

Finland and Canada: Northern Partners(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Finland’s Canada Action Plan
(PDF, MFA 7 December)

Webcast:

Webcast of the launch(Link to another website.)