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