Finnish-Swedish relations

Finland was part of Sweden for almost 700 years: from 1150 until the end of the Russian-Swedish war in 1809 , as a result of which Finland became part of Russia under the name of the Grand Duchy of Finland . In 1917, Finland gained complete independence from Russia and established close diplomatic relations with Sweden. Swedish has official status in Finland, and Finns form the largest ethnic minority (675,000) in Sweden. In 1995, Finland and Sweden joined the European Union . Both countries are also united by the fact that they are not members of NATO , while all other countries of Northern Europe, as well as the Baltic countries, are members of this organization ^{[2] [3] [4] [5]} .

On May 6, 2014, the Ministers of Defense of Finland and Sweden - Karl Haglund and Karina Enström - announced the signing of a plan of defense cooperation between the two countries, according to which joint military exercises of the aviation, army and navy will be held, as well as material resources of the armed forces of the two countries will be shared. According to Haglund, the signed plan "paves the way" for the creation of a defense alliance between Finland and Sweden ^[6] .

Political contacts are carried out both in an official and in an informal format. So, on November 26-28, 2014, King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustav paid an unofficial visit to Finland. Carl Gustav arrived as the head of the delegation of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering, visited Aalto University , where he participated in an economic seminar; met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö . His daughter, Crown Princess Victoria , spoke in Espoo on November 27 at the opening of the Forum of the Future Conference ^{[7] [8]} . From March 3 to 5, 2015, an official visit was made by the Queen of the Swedish couple. King Charles XVI Gustav and Queen Sylvia met with the Finnish leadership, with representatives of the country's business community, as well as with children ^[9] .

Finland's ambassador to Sweden is (since 2018).