Vietnam-Finland Ties Upgraded to Strategic Partnership: Trade, Investment, and New Opportunities

Vietnam and Finland recently elevated their relationship to a Strategic Partnership, opening a new chapter of bilateral cooperation across various fields, with economic and innovation collaborations playing a key role.

During an official visit to Finland from October 20 to 22, 2025, Vietnam’s General Secretary To Lam and President Alexander Stubb signed a joint statement to elevate the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership. The strengthened partnership is based on more than 50 years of diplomatic and economic ties, laying the foundation for future cooperation on renewed priorities and new shared concerns.

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In recent years, cooperation between Vietnam and Finland has been steadily improving, with bilateral trade growing and investment activity accelerating.

Major Finnish companies, such as Nokia, Vaisala, Valmet, and KONE, have built years of successful operations in Vietnam, contributing to the country’s green transition, digital modernization, and innovation-driven growth.

On its part, Vietnam is strengthening its role as a major trade partner for Finland in Southeast Asia. The country is one of the four Asian countries that Finland considers priority partners for trade and investment strategies.

Background: Longstanding bilateral relationship

Vietnam and Finland established diplomatic relations in January 1973, marking the beginning of a long-standing partnership. Finland opened its embassy in Hanoi in 1974, and Vietnam established its embassy in Helsinki in 2005.

For decades, Finland regarded Vietnam as a priority partner in its development assistance, supporting key areas such as poverty reduction, education and training, and clean water infrastructure. Over time, the relationship has evolved from development cooperation to a more balanced and mutually beneficial partnership.

Vietnam values Finland’s active role within the European Union (EU) and continues to seek deeper collaboration across multiple sectors. In return, Finland has strongly supported the strengthening of Vietnam–EU relations and the effective implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which brings tangible benefits to businesses and citizens of both countries.

Economic cooperation has become the highlight of bilateral ties, with growing potential in trade, investment, and innovation.

Economic focus of the Vietnam-Finland Strategic Partnership

Four of the seven strategic priorities set for Vietnam and Finland in the new partnership era focus on economic and innovation collaboration, reflecting its central role in shaping bilateral relations.

Economy, trade, and investment

Both sides agree that economic cooperation is a key pillar of the Strategic Partnership. The two countries will work to expand two-way trade and investment, leveraging existing bilateral and multilateral agreements.

Accordingly, Finland is expected to serve as a bridge for Vietnamese goods to enter the EU market, while Vietnam will act as a strategic destination for Finnish companies in Asia. Both parties are committed to encouraging future collaboration based on the following principles:

• Promoting a transparent, fair, and non-discriminatory trade and investment environment;
• Strengthening business exchanges and networking activities; and
• Improving access to financing opportunities.

Science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation

The two sides will strengthen cooperation programs in areas such as e-government, online public services, circular economy, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor technology, 5G/6G telecommunications, and green technologies. Both have expressed their intention to strengthen the innovation and startup ecosystem, accelerate innovation programs, and enhance capacity in digital governance, innovative infrastructure, and emerging technologies.

Education, training, labor, and development

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Vietnam and Finland are committed to promoting academic exchanges, scholarships, and joint programs and projects in areas such as leadership and management capacity building, educational technology, reskilling and upskilling, and advanced skills development.

Development cooperation will focus on innovation, environmental sustainability, and climate change adaptation. Finland’s concessional credit programs will be leveraged to implement projects in Vietnam, prioritizing initiatives that foster green and innovative development.

Agriculture, environment, energy, infrastructure, and transportation

The two countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, and the circular economy, with an emphasis on digital transformation, resource management, and climate change adaptation.

They also concur on enhancing energy cooperation to support Vietnam’s transition toward renewable energy, focusing on energy efficiency and emissions reduction. In infrastructure and transportation, the two sides have committed to promoting collaboration in smart urban development, green ports, aviation, and logistics, highlighting the application of high technology and automation.

Vietnam–Finland relations strengthened through new cooperation deals

On October 21, General Secretary To Lam and President Stubb witnessed the signing of a series of bilateral cooperation documents covering environment, finance, and technology.

Key government-level agreements included:

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in environment, biodiversity, and climate change between Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and Finland’s Ministry of the Environment;
• An MoU between Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance and Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs on supporting and promoting the preparation and implementation of projects under Finland’s public investment program; and
• An MoU between Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance and Finland’s export credit agency.

Later that day, during a meeting with leading Finnish companies, the two leaders also witnessed several business MoUs signed, including:

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• Collaboration on earth observation satellite technology between Viettel and ICEYE;
• Partnership on digital transformation and next-gen telecom infrastructure between Viettel and Nokia, aimed at boosting 5G/6G, Open RAN, AI, and data center growth in Vietnam;
• Agreement between VNPT and Nokia to expand VNPT’s radio access network in Hanoi, border areas, and southern regions during 2025–2026;
• VNPT–F-Secure alliance on cybersecurity and online fraud prevention, with plans to extend into the Asia-Pacific market; and
• The MoU between Vietjet and Airways Aviation on training top-tier personnel for the international aviation sector, strengthening Vietnam-Finland cooperation.

Vietnam-Finland trade in 2025

According to data from Vietnam Customs, trade between Vietnam and Finland is growing steadily, with total two-way trade reaching US$422.5 million in 2024, up 12.5 percent from the previous year. Vietnam’s exports to Finland amounted to US$204.6 million, up 4.5 percent, while imports from Finland rose 21.2 percent to US$217.9 million.

In the first eight months of 2025, total bilateral trade stood at US$253.04 million, including US$110.4 million in exports from Vietnam and US$142.6 million in imports from Finland.

Vietnam-Finland investment highlights

As of June 2025, Finland had 38 investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of US$50.85 million, ranking 60th out of 152 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. In 2025, Finland recorded one newly licensed project with a total registered capital of US$0.6 million.

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The two economies complement each other. Finland is a global leader in areas such as innovation, the circular economy, clean energy, energy efficiency, small modular nuclear reactors, and water and waste treatment technologies. Vietnam, on the other hand, provides an attractive investment climate and substantial renewable energy potential, drawing Finnish investors.

Additionally, while Finland is globally recognized for its technology and innovation capacity, Vietnam offers a dynamic, young workforce and rising technological capabilities. As Finland seeks to attract high-skilled labor to meet development needs, Vietnam has emerged as a promising partner in workforce mobility. The recent signing of an MoU on the movement of professionals and skilled workers marks a new step forward in bilateral labor cooperation.

Takeaway

The newly-upgraded Vietnam-Finland Strategic Partnership is a demonstration of growing economic and innovation collaboration between the two countries. This partnership is poised to enhance bilateral trade and investment, with Finland acting as a gateway for Vietnamese goods to the EU and Vietnam serving as a strategic hub for Finnish companies in Asia.

As the bilateral relationship expands, businesses can take advantage of new opportunities across multiple sectors, including technological advances, digital transformation, education, sustainable development, and energy cooperation.

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