Israel-Finland relations are diplomatic, commercial and cultural ties between

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. Finland maintains an embassy in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and Israel maintains an embassy in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. Both countries are full members of the

Union for the Mediterranean The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; , ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the Mediterranean Basin: the 27 Member state of the European Union, EU member states (i ...

History

The foundation for bilateral relations between Finland and Israel was laid before the establishment of the State of Israel. Finnish President Paasikivi announced de facto recognition of Israel on 11 June 1948, a month after Israel's declaration of independence. Finland officially recognized the State of Israel on 18 March 1949 and diplomatic relations were established on 14 November 1950. Finland opened its embassy in Tel Aviv in 1952 and Israel opened its embassy in Helsinki in 1956. The first Finnish diplomatic representative to Israel was Toivo Kala, who presented his letter of accreditation to Foreign Minister

Moshe Sharett Moshe Sharett (; born Moshe Chertok (); 15 October 1894 – 7 July 1965) was the second prime minister of Israel and the country’s first foreign minister. He signed the Israeli Declaration of Independence and was a principal negotiator in th ...

. Sharett told Kala that he admired Finland's readiness to defend its rights and its efforts to rebuild after the war. Today, Finland and Israel have strong cultural and scientific ties, and some 10,000 Finns visit Israel every year. In May 2025, Finland's Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to Finland for questioning after Israeli forces fired "warning shots" towards a diplomat delegation while visiting

Jenin Jenin ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and is the capital of the Jenin Governorate. It is a hub for the surrounding towns. Jenin came under Israeli occupied territories, Israeli occupation in 1967, and was put under the administra ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

Economic relations

In 2005, Finnish exports to Israel totaled 155.24 million euros and imports from Israel to Finland totaled 95.96 million euros. Israel imports Finnish machinery, telecommunications equipment, wood, paper products and chemical industry products. Israel's leading exports to Finland are telecommunications equipment and machinery, and Israeli fruits and vegetables.Finland’s trade relations with Israel get a new boost
In 2004, a joint Finland-Israel Technology (FIT) cooperation program was created for research and development projects in the field of ICT. The Office of the Chief Scientist in Israel and Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Research and Innovation, allocated five million euros each for the funding of projects. The Finland Israel Trade association serves as an intermediary between Finnish and Israeli companies in order to create new business contacts. It helps to organize business missions to Israel and hosts business missions from Israel. In April 2019, Finland and Israel embarked on a project to sponsor joint programs in digital health and healthcare technology. The Israel Innovation Authority and the Helsinki Business Hub led the initiative.

Cultural ties

In 2006, an exhibition on the history of Finland's Jews from the 1830s to the 1970s opened at Beth Hatefutsoth in

Military ties

IMI Galil is said to have been partially based on Finnish Rk 62

assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Rifle: A Complete Study of the Rifle in Combat'', F.A. Moyer '' ...

, and indeed the machinery used to manufacture the first Galils as well as receivers for the early samples were provided by

Valmet Valmet Oyj, a Finnish company, is a developer and supplier of process technologies, automation systems and services for the pulp, paper, energy industries. Flow control serves a wider base of process industries. History 1999–2012 Valmet ...

Tampella Oy Tampella Ab was a Finland, Finnish heavy industry manufacturer, a maker of paper machines, locomotives, military weaponry, as well as wood-based products such as packaging. The company was based mainly in the Naistenlahti, Naistenlahti di ...

(through fully owned subsidiary Salgad) and Israeli Solel Boneh founded Soltam Systems in 1950 and started to license build Finnish designed artillery pieces and grenade launchers in Israel. It was seen as a win-win for two small and relatively poor countries with nascent defence. When two decades passed the two countries' profiles had grown apart. Amid negative publicity and dwindling domestic sales for Tampella, the ties between Salgad and Soltam were severed 15 August 1974. The FDF's LV141 and LV241 radios have been contract-built by Tadiran for Danish

Terma A/S Terma A/S is a Danish defense and aerospace manufacturer for both civilian and military applications, and is owned by the Danish company Thrige Holding A/S. It is Denmark's largest company within the aerospace and the defense industry, employing ...

. Spike anti-tank missiles were bought from German

Rheinmetall Rheinmetall AG () is a German automotive and arms manufacturer, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The group was promoted to the DAX, Germany's leading stock market index, in March 2023. It is the largest German and fifth largest Europe ...

, which subcontracted

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. () is an Israeli Defense contractor, defense technology company. It was founded as Israel's National R&D Defense Laboratory for the development of weapons and military technology within the Ministry of Defens ...

. Rafael was also involved in FDF's LITENING AT targeting pod purchase. Mastsystem International, current Cobham Mast Systems have been granted an export license to export some telescopic masts from Finland to Israel. The process to receive export licenses to Israel has been criticized as politically unpredictable, enough for customers to lose interest. For example, a Mastsystem International spokesperson noted in October 2010 that they were denied permit from the end of 2008 to summer 2009. In the same newspaper article a researcher noted that in 2008 Finland had also denied some export permits to Sri Lanka, Brazil and Russia. In April 2012 the FDF ordered for the Army 24 million euros worth of Orbiter II UAVs from Aeronautics Defense Systems. Their previous Swiss UAV RUAG Ranger's design was also done in Israel. In January 2014, the FDF ordered $47 million worth of multi-spectral camouflage technology from Fibrotex Technologies. In 2023, Finland chose the Israeli David's Sling as their future air defense system, to be deployed in late 2020s.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Finland has an embassy in

. * Israel has an embassy in

. File:Yrjönkatu 36 (Embassy of Israel in Helsinki).jpg, Embassy of Israel in Helsinki

References

External links

Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the relation with Israel

Finnish embassy in Tel Aviv

Israeli embassy in Helsinki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finland-Israel relations

Bilateral relations of Israel