The recent years have witnessed a growing interest from Helsinki in the transformations and interactions of the Middle East, as evident in the inauguration of academic institutes in the region, visits by diplomatic and parliamentary delegations, activities with research centers, proposals for the resolution of conflicts between political parties, meetings between joint business councils and representatives of chambers of commerce and enhancing the cooperation with Arab intelligence agencies. The Finnish government has several objectives within this calculus.
Incomplete View
The common mental image of Finland in the Arabic writings is linked to the fact that it is a militarily non-allied state (not a member of NATO), does not have natural resources, its exports are mainly mobile phones, and that it shows no interest in the interactions beyond its direct geographical borders, in parallel with its preoccupation with its internal affairs. Reports by international organizations place Finland in advanced ranks in the achievement of security, stability, quality of life, good governance, free and fair election, confronting corruption, fighting crime, promoting the economics of happiness and social equality, and increasing the representation of women in parliamentary assemblies.
Yet, this view is lacking because the focus of Finland on its internal affairs does not prevent it from forging relations with other states in the Middle East, given the “export of security threats and dangers”, traditional and non-traditional, from the Middle East to Helsinki. This comes after foreign terrorists moved from Finland, after they were recruited through the internet, assuming high ranks in ISIS, where they have established a network of relations within the organization, according to the prevailing estimates of the Finnish security services. The Finnish interest in the region has been extended from intelligence and security services to academic forums.
The Finnish Institute in the Middle East (of which there are four offices outside Finland, including one in Cairo and another in Beirut), plays important roles, such as supporting and facilitating Middle Eastern studies at Finnish universities, organizing conferences in cooperation with universities and developing academic and cultural cooperation between Finland and the states of the region, as well as promoting Finland in the Middle East. The funding of the institute comes from the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and private institutions in support of arts and crafts, as well as civil society organizations and charitable donors.
In general, the interests of Helsinki have been manifested in the extensive follow up of the recent transformations and interactions of the Middle East, which are as follows:
The Helsinki Brand
1- Expanding the Finnish brand beyond national borders: Helsinki is eager to share its experiment, especially in the field of education, across the world, including the Middle East, as explained by Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini, in his interview with Egyptian newspaper, Al-Masry Al-Youm on November 11, 2017, saying that “Finland today is a very advanced country in education and health care. We are very fortunate, we are 5.5 million people and have the space and security, so we believe that our responsibility is to tell the world that there is a way to rise, were not teaching them but we tell them look at our experiment”.
The remarks of Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi in his meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini on November 8, 2017, on the sidelines of the World Youth Forum in Sharm el-Sheikh, in which he said that “We seek to benefit from your experience in education” is a case in point, especially that Finland is the first European country in terms of spending on scientific research as percentage of the GDP. In addition, Finnish experts participated in a conference organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Education on December 4 and 5 to share their experience in primary and technical education. In addition, Finland is eager to share its experiment in improving local services in hazardous waste management and improving ecosystems.
The Dangers of Terrorism
2- Reinforcing efforts to combat terrorist organizations: This gains special importance after terrorists stabbed two Finnish women in the city of Turku on August 18, 2017, the first terrorist attack in the country, according to Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila. The attackers descend form Middle Eastern origins. This is in addition to the involvement of some networks from the region in several high-profile terrorist attacks across Europe, including the November 2015 attack in Paris, the March 2016 attack in Brussels and the failed attack at Brussels Central Station in May 2017
Such a threat would require strengthening cooperation with the intelligence and security services in the region’s main countries, especially as it faces similar terrorist attacks to those in other European countries such as Sweden. This has led it to introduce bills aimed at catching up with the rest of Europe in the field of cyber security and counter terrorism, since domestic laws in the country do not allow security authorities and intelligence services to track criminals and potential terrorists on the internet before they commit their crimes.
This growing fear was voiced by Finnish Interior Minister Paula Risikko at a press conference on April 19, 2017, saying that “This means that we were not able to gather the necessary information and it is unreasonable to rely on other countries to do so. A similar law already exists in almost every European country” adding that “Security threats at home and abroad have begun to overlap and have moved into information networks”. Kauko Aaltomaa, former Director General of the Police Department at the Interior Ministry, said “We are very late compared to other countries”.
In this context, a delegation from the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI), a Finnish organization that works to prevent and resolve violent conflicts through informal dialogue and mediation, headed by Maruan El-Krekshi, visited the World Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) in Riyadh on March 28, 2018, to learn about the center’s intellectual, media and digital activities aimed at spreading the culture of tolerance and moderation, and the state-of-the-art techniques used to combat the extremist discourse and content, in addition to the global Extremism Index, leading some members of the delegation to show their willingness in partnership and coordination of efforts to eliminate global terrorism.
Restrictions on Asylum
3- Stemming the tide of irregular migration from Arab armed conflict zones: Irregular immigrants have become one of the most prominent threats facing Finland, after they turned from Norway to Finland from 2015; meanwhile, the Finnish authorities are trying to rein in right-wing groups (such as the True Finns), an anti-immigration Party. Therefore, the Finnish government has put restrictions on granting residence permits to asylum-seekers from Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia in the last three years, unless they prove that they are at risk, in accordance with the articles referred to in the Geneva Convention and the Charter of the United Nations.
On the other hand, the Finnish authorities are involved in the forced deportation of asylum-seekers for fear of the consequences if they are to stay. Helsinki is trying to take remedial action, with the International Red Cross of Finland participating in the regional health meeting of the Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies of the Middle East and North Africa in the protection of refugees and displaced persons, to achieve sustainable development in health care, to address the problems of shelter camps infested with epidemics, infectious diseases, to provide healthy food and clean water, and to protect them from the mafia of human trafficking and early marriage.
Re-conciliatory Diplomacy
4- Settlement of the Libyan crisis: The Finnish government prepared a document in April 2018 to sign the so-called “Libyan Honor Charter” between some Libyan parties and organizations, including the National Forces’ Alliance headed by Dr. Mahmoud Jibril, the Justice and Construction Party (Muslim Brotherhood), led by Mohamed Sawan, Al-Watan party, headed by former Libyan Islamic Fighting Group emir Abdulhakim Belhadj, the Change Party led by Juma al-Qamaty, the Libyan National Struggle Front which is associated with some supporters of the former regime, whose political office is led by Ahmed Qadhaf al-Dam, the Future Movement party led by Abdul Hadi Al-Hweij, and the Federal National Bloc headed by Belkassem al-Nimer.
However, these parties refused to sign the proposed document, which included, among other things, the civil state, the peaceful transfer of power, abiding by the results of elections, avoiding political tensions in the management of sovereign institutions, ending media incitement, and renouncing hate speech and violence, which demonstrates Helsinki’s endeavors to settle the prolonged crisis, which has been raging for more than seven years since the February 17 revolution.
An Eye on Investments
5- Establishing a network of economic interests: Finland shows interest in expanding trade relations and establishing investment partnerships, to achieve common development interests, particularly in innovation, education, energy, industry and tourism. This is the case since Finland has achieved scientific progress in related fields, most notably smart cities, advanced infrastructure and robot systems, leading it to focus on investing in the Middle East countries in projects related to technology and innovation, and harnessing modern technologies in the development of the promising economic sectors.
Pressing Issues
In sum, interests associated with growth and economy, challenges of migration and security, whether the pressure of refugees or the possible terrorist attacks, and the return of foreign fighters, are pushing Finland towards increasing its interest in the Middle East region, with moves to settle the conflicts in Libya and Syria. In May, Finland printed the image of the Syrian child Alan Kurdi on its national currency, who drowned in 2015 off the Turkish coast in the Aegean Sea, during his family’s attempt to reach Europe, a human gesture from Finland in its centennial celebrations of independence.
