Amman, July 22 (Petra) — Finnish Ambassador to Jordan Anne Meskanen
condemned recent unjustified and indiscriminate Iranian strikes
targeting Jordanian territory and other countries in the region,
expressing Finland’s full solidarity with Jordan and praising its
constructive role in fostering Middle East stability.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency (Petra), Meskanen
highlighted the enduring strength of Jordanian-Finnish ties spanning
over six decades of bilateral cooperation, commending the pivotal
leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II in consolidating regional
peace and security.

She noted that the two nations share deep-rooted relations, common
values, and active cooperation across multilateral platforms. Key
joint endeavors include co-leading the Group of Friends for the UN
Resolution on Youth, Peace, and Security, as well as Jordan’s valued
participation in the Helsinki Policy Forum on mediation.

Meskanen referenced Finland’s role as the main partner in an
EU-funded, two-year twinning project aimed at building capacity at
the Institute of Public Administration in Jordan, which yielded
positive results in supporting public sector development. She also
expressed hopes that the next round of bilateral political
consultations will take place in Helsinki before the end of this
year, following the previous session held in Amman two years ago.

On development cooperation, the envoy stated that Finland works
alongside UNHCR to fund projects supporting refugees and host
communities, with a focus on vulnerable populations including persons
with disabilities. Finland also partners with UN Women to promote
women’s economic empowerment and advance the Women, Peace, and
Security agenda.

High-level engagements between both leaderships remain ongoing,
notably through meetings between King Abdullah II and Finnish
President Alexander Stubb, alongside regular dialogue between their
respective foreign ministers. Meskanen described President Stubb’s
recent visit to Jordan as highly successful, serving as a landmark
event in bolstering bilateral ties. During the visit, both leaders
discussed regional crisis management and the Russia-Ukraine war,
attended a joint military exercise, and President Stubb lauded King
Abdullah as a “man of peace.”

The ambassador stressed that Finland views Jordan as one of the EU’s
closest and most reliable regional partners. She explained that the
EU-Jordan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership launched in January
2025 underscores Jordan’s stabilizing role while supporting national
modernization efforts across political, economic, and administrative
tracks. The framework centers on five key domains: political
relations and regional cooperation, security and defense, economic
resilience and trade, human capital development, and migration and
refugee protection.

Regarding trade, Meskanen noted that while bilateral exchange remains
modest with a balance currently favoring Finland, it continues to
grow under the Euro-Mediterranean framework. Major Finnish exports
include telecommunications equipment–including Nokia technologies
and networks–machinery, medical devices, and chemical products,
whereas Jordan exports pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, and agricultural
produce. Both sides are working to broaden collaboration in high-tech
fields such as digital tech, green transition, circular economy,
mining, satellite development, defense industries, renewable energy,
and IT.

Turning to education, Meskanen highlighted Finland’s world-renowned
educational model built on equity, student well-being, trust in
highly qualified teachers, and tuition-free instruction. Higher
education institutions like the University of Helsinki maintain
exchange programs with Jordanian universities through platforms like
Erasmus+. Enhancing educational and innovation partnerships was
explicitly agreed upon during President Stubb’s visit in April.

On Gaza, the ambassador expressed Finland’s deep concern over the
dire humanitarian situation, emphasizing that Helsinki has repeatedly
pressed Israel in joint statements and bilateral talks to ensure
expanded humanitarian access. Since October 7, 2023, Finland has
scaled up its Palestinian humanitarian aid to nearly 42.5 million
euros, which includes annual funding for UNRWA and contributions to
the “Team Europe for Gaza” early recovery initiative. Furthermore,
Finland deploys experts to the EU Border Assistance Mission at Rafah
(EUBAM Rafah) and the EU Police Mission for the Palestinian
Territories (EUPOL COPPS) to support stability and justice sector
reform.

Meskanen also voiced serious concern over the deepening Israeli
occupation in the West Bank and rising settler violence, calling on
Israel to fully comply with its obligations under international law.

Concluding her remarks on broader regional dynamics, Meskanen
affirmed that Finland will continue working within the international
community to advance security across the Middle East. She underscored
that sustainable solutions can only be achieved through diplomacy,
dialogue, negotiations, and adherence to international law, stressing
the paramount need to safeguard civilians and civilian infrastructure
under all circumstances.

//Petra// AA