On October 21, 2025, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien accompanied Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse in attending the official welcoming ceremony and talks with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, held meetings with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, met with several leading Finnish enterprises, and joined other official engagements.

In the morning of October 21, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and other senior members of the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation attended the official welcoming ceremony and talks between Party General Secretary To Lam and Finnish President Alexander Stubb and the Finnish delegation. During the meeting, the two leaders exchanged updates on each country’s recent development and expressed satisfaction with the positive progress in bilateral relations over the past years. Both sides discussed major strategic orientations to further elevate the Vietnam - Finland relationship in a manner commensurate with its current scope and potential.

Accordingly, the two sides agreed to promote cooperation across multiple areas, particularly in sectors that require stronger joint efforts in the coming period, including circular economy, green transition, sustainable marine cooperation, digital transformation, environment, and climate change response.

In the sphere of economy, trade, and investment, both sides concurred on the need to make full use of the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to facilitate business linkages, market access, and promotional activities, especially in fields such as agricultural products and consumer goods.

General Secretary To Lam emphasized that Vietnam always welcomes and creates favorable conditions for Finnish enterprises to invest and expand operations in Vietnam, affirming that the country stands ready to work with Finland as a bridge to connect the EU and ASEAN markets, thereby strengthening Vietnam - EU and Finland - ASEAN cooperation in the future.

He also called on Finland to encourage the remaining seven EU member states to soon ratify the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and to support the European Commission (EC) in lifting the IUU yellow card against Vietnam’s seafood exports. The Party leader also encouraged Finnish firms to increase investment in areas where Finland holds strong expertise, such as green technology, processing industries, energy transition, and logistics services.

For his part, Finnish President Alexander Stubb reaffirmed that Finland is willing to cooperate with Vietnam in sectors where Finland has strengths and Vietnam has growing demand, such as circular economy, forestry, science and technology, education and training, and climate change adaptation.

Immediately following the talks, Party General Secretary To Lam and President Stubb witnessed the signing of several cooperation documents between the two sides, including a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on bilateral 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 of Foreign Affairs on facilitating and promoting the preparation and implementation of projects funded under Finland’s public investment program; and another MoU between the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and the Finnish Export Credit Agency.

In the afternoon of October 21, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien continued to join official activities, including meetings with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, an exchange with leading Finnish enterprises, a visit to Nokia’s Experience Center and headquarters, and a meeting with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the Nordic region.

The meeting between Party General Secretary To Lam and Finnish business representatives brought together numerous senior delegates from both sides. On the Vietnamese side, participants included leaders from the Party Central Office, the Central Strategy and Policy Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, along with representatives from other relevant ministries and more than ten leading Vietnamese corporations and enterprises.

The Finnish side was represented by Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen, senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, representatives from the Finnish Credit Agency, the Confederation of Finnish Industries, and chairpersons and chief executives from 17 leading Finnish corporations such as UPM, Neste, Operon, Wartsila, Valmet, Lindstrom, Nokia, and Kone, among others.

Addressing the meeting, Minister of Employment Matias Marttinen highlighted that over the past decades, Finland and Vietnam have forged a robust and enduring partnership built on mutual respect, regular exchanges, and strong business ties. The two nations have enjoyed diplomatic relations for more than 50 years, with economic and trade cooperation witnessing remarkable growth in recent years. Vietnam has become Finland’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia.

Representatives from Finnish enterprises introduced their companies, briefed on ongoing collaborations with Vietnamese partners, and proposed future directions for cooperation, focusing on areas such as circular economy, industry and energy, technology, services, and infrastructure.

In his remarks, Party General Secretary To Lam underscored that Vietnam - Finland cooperation has continuously expanded, becoming more substantive and comprehensive since the establishment of diplomatic relations more than half a century ago. The Party leader expressed his pleasure in announcing that during this official visit, the two sides agreed to elevate their ties to a Strategic Partnership, a major milestone that opens up new opportunities for economic, trade, and investment cooperation, identified as a key pillar in bilateral relations.

He affirmed that economic, investment, and trade cooperation remains a solid foundation and driving force behind the bilateral partnership. Vietnam is advancing its high-quality development strategy, focusing on science and technology, green growth, digital transformation, and innovation. The country continues to open its market to international partners, improve the investment environment, safeguard legitimate interests of foreign investors, and introduce breakthrough, flexible, and enabling policies to attract quality investment.

Welcoming the proposals from Finnish enterprises on circular economy, a development model Vietnam is determined to pursue, Party General Secretary To Lam emphasized that enterprises are at the heart of national development, serving as the key drivers to realize the nation’s aspiration to become a high-income developed country by 2045.

He reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to further improving its business environment, building a dynamic and transparent market economy, promoting innovation, and placing people at the center of development.

The Party leader encouraged business communities from both countries to intensify exchanges, partnerships, and investments in areas where the two sides have mutual strengths and shared interests, such as renewable energy, clean industry, environmental technology, forest resource management, education, science and technology, and innovation. He noted that enterprises play a vital role as a living bridge that brings Vietnam - Finland cooperation to greater depth and creates sustainable and practical value for both economies.

Party General Secretary To Lam called on the governments, ministries, sectors, and localities of both countries, within their respective functions and responsibilities, to continue close coordination and provide more tangible support to the business communities. He urged the creation of a transparent, stable, and open investment environment, encouraged public - private partnerships, and fostered stronger linkages in research, training, and technology transfer.

He emphasized that the combination of state-level vision, policy, and resources with the dynamism, creativity, and determination of enterprises will serve as a strong impetus for the long-term, strategic, and effective development of bilateral cooperation.

Expressing confidence in the bright prospects ahead, the Party leader stated that both countries have the potential to jointly build a model of cooperation between an advanced Nordic economy and a dynamic Southeast Asian nation, not merely as an intergovernmental partnership but as a collaboration rooted in mutual trust, respect, and shared prosperity between the two business communities.

During the meeting, Party General Secretary To Lam and senior delegates from both Vietnam and Finland witnessed the signing of several key cooperation documents. These included an MoU between Viettel Group and ICEYE (Finland) on research and development of Earth observation satellite technology; an MoU between Viettel Group and Nokia (Finland) on digital transformation and development of next-generation telecommunications infrastructure in Vietnam, promoting 5G/6G, Open RAN, AI, and data centers; an MoU between VNPT Group and Nokia (Finland) on developing VNPT’s radio access network in Hanoi, border provinces, and southern Vietnam during 2025 - 2026; an MoU between VNPT and F-Secure (Finland) on strategic cooperation in protecting users from cyberattacks, combating online scams, and expanding cooperation into the Asia-Pacific region; and an MoU between Vietjet Air and Airways Aviation (Finland) on training high-quality human resources for the international aviation sector, further fostering new collaboration between Vietnam and Finland.