Swedish prime minister to visit Finland
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson will meet with her Finnish counterpart today.
Her discussion with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin is expected to touch on bilateral relations and EU issues. They will likely discuss joint efforts in defense and economics. Finland has experienced economic disruptions related to COVID-19 supply chain bottlenecks and government spending.
Sweden and Finland are one another’s second closest trading partner. Work is set to begin in 2022 on a Finnish-Swedish train line which will help to secure commercial supply lines. In the event of a disruption to sea transport, this overland alternative would also keep goods flowing between both countries.
Finland has also shown an increased interest in defense recently. There was concern over Belarus sending asylum seekers into the region which ultimately did not affect either country but brought up concerns of Russian aggression. Amidst this tension, Finland and Sweden carried out joint naval exercises in October meant to emphasise their defense relationship.
Expect Sweden and Finland to work towards greater military interoperability, following these talks if Russian or anti-EU threats increase. Finland may even sign onto an existing defence cooperation agreement between Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
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