Marrakech – Finland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen, is set to arrive in Rabat on Sunday, March 1, for talks with her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita. The visit comes as bilateral ties between the two countries enter a more active phase, with Western Sahara, trade expansion, and regional security on the agenda.
The two ministers will discuss strengthening trade and investment relations, along with a range of international issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, the situation in the Middle East, the Sahel, and Sudan.
“Finland and Morocco enjoy good bilateral relations that benefit both countries. There is great potential to further expand our cooperation, especially in trade and investments. Morocco is also a key partner for the EU,” Valtonen said ahead of the visit.
The first Nordic backer of Morocco’s territorial integrity
The Western Sahara file is expected to feature prominently. Finland formally endorsed Morocco’s Autonomy Plan in August 2024, becoming the first Nordic country to do so.
Following Bourita’s visit to Helsinki on August 6 of that year, a joint communiqué described the plan as “a good basis for a solution agreed upon by the parties,” marking a clear departure from Helsinki’s earlier neutral stance. The statement also reaffirmed support for the UN-led political process and the efforts of Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura.
On January 29, the EU adopted a unified stance at the 15th EU-Morocco Association Council in Brussels, with all 27 member states agreeing that “genuine autonomy could represent one of the most realistic solutions” to the dispute.
As an EU member since 1995, Finland’s endorsement is technically consistent with that bloc-wide posture. The session also celebrated the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2797, passed on October 31, 2025, which reaffirmed the primacy of Morocco’s autonomy initiative in UN-led negotiations.
Beyond the Sahara, the two countries have been building a broader partnership.
The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding on energy cooperation in February 2022, targeting renewable energy, energy efficiency, hydrogen, and water technologies – sectors where Finnish companies hold recognized expertise.
A growing bilateral partnership
A second MoU followed in October 2025, covering meteorology, climate, and environmental sciences, signed on the sidelines of the World Meteorological Organization Congress in Geneva.
Finland opened a Business Finland office in Casablanca in 2019 to help Finnish firms access the Moroccan market.
During the August 2024 Helsinki talks, both sides identified key sectors for cooperation, including digitalization, cybersecurity, 5G deployment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, water technologies, and healthcare.
They also agreed to hold a business seminar in 2025 aimed at bringing together economic actors from both countries.
The initiative materialized in February, when Finnish and Moroccan companies, universities, and policymakers gathered in Casablanca for the “Doing Business with Finland” event. Organized jointly by Finnpartnership, Business Finland, the Finnish Embassy, and Morocco’s CGEM, the forum focused on water, health, and digitalization.
Two months later, Finnish Minister of Foreign Trade Ville Tavio led a business delegation to Morocco from April 28-30, meeting ministers across industry, energy, digital transition, and foreign affairs, while companies including Nokia, Wärtsilä, Metso, and Kalmar explored investment opportunities in logistics, infrastructure, and technology.
In September 2025, the Speaker of Morocco’s House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi El Alami, led a parliamentary delegation to Helsinki, with talks covering trade, energy, migration, agriculture, and food security.
The bilateral relationship, now marking 66 years of diplomatic ties, continues to evolve within a broader Morocco-EU economic context. EU-Morocco trade surpassed €60 billion in 2024, with Morocco receiving approximately €270 million annually from the EU during 2021-2024.
A part of that framework, Finland sees Morocco as a strategic entry point into both Africa and Mediterranean markets.
Sunday’s meeting in Rabat will be the second face-to-face encounter between Valtonen and Bourita in roughly 18 months, signaling steady momentum in a relationship both sides describe as having significant untapped potential.
