For the first time in a decade, a Finnish foreign minister is visiting Jerusalem, in an effort to strengthen bilateral ties, the Israeli foreign minister said on Sunday.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hosted his Finnish counterpart, Elina Valtonen, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. He thanked Finland for supporting the European Union’s Jan. 29 decision to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.
“We’ll continue working together to strengthen relations between our countries,” Sa’ar wrote in a post on X.
Valtonen wrote of their meeting on X, “I emphasized the urgent needs of the civilian population in Gaza and the importance of unhindered access of humanitarian aid. I reaffirmed Finland’s support for regional stability and securing a path towards the two-state solution.”
Glad to host the FM of Finland @elinavaltonen at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem. This was the first visit of a Finnish FM in Israel since 2016.
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) February 15, 2026
In our meeting, we discussed strengthening bilateral relations and the situation in the Middle East.
I thanked the… pic.twitter.com/U5CM45YHGS
Valtonen also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. She will tour the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial.
During her two-day visit, she also is scheduled to meet with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa in Ramallah.
Chaya Votkin, president of the Helsinki Jewish community, told JNS that the visit was something the community had been longing for.
“Officials from Finland have not visited Israel in many years. From my point of view, it is a very welcome visit. It feels like a continuation of bilateral ties after a long break. We didn’t know about the visit in advance, but this feels like a reboot,” Votkin said.
“I see a lot of potential in the relationship between Israel—the Startup Nation—and Finland; potential for cooperation in finances and in commerce,” she added. “I think we have a lot to give to one another as countries.”
