Finland, Republic of

Chronology of Diplomatic Relations

Diplomatic relations between Georgia and the Republic of Finland were established on 8 July 1992.

2022 marked the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Georgia and Finland.

The diplomatic representation of Georgia to the Republic of Finland has been functioning since 2011, and Finland extends its diplomatic presence to Georgia from Helsinki - through the non-resident ambassador [also accredited to Azerbaijan and Armenia].

Main Fields of Cooperation

Georgia and the Republic of Finland enjoy close, friendly relations, based on mutual trust and the shared commitment to common European and Euro-Atlantic values and interests.

The Georgian-Finnish cooperation covers mainly political, inter-parliamentary, economic, defence, education and other areas.

A political dialogue is conducted regularly and high-level visits are exchanged between the two countries at both executive and legislative levels. Worthy of note is the visit of the President of the Republic of Finland to Tbilisi on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the First Democratic Republic of Georgia. The Finnish Foreign Minister visited Georgia several times in 2008-2010 years. It should be also noted the Georgian Foreign Minister’s bilateral visits to Finland, which took place in 2018 and 2024. 

Georgia also attaches great importance to the development of political dialogue with Finland within various Nordic regional formats on strategic issues of common interest.

Finland firmly supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, as well as the non-recognition policy of Georgia’s occupied territories by the Russian Federation. Finland, as the acting chairman of the OSCE, was involved in peace mediation process during the August war 2008. Georgia highly appreciates Finland’s involvement in the EU Monitoring Mission [EUMM] in Georgia.  

Finland supports the Georgian people’s free choice to become Georgia a full-fledged member of the EU and NATO. Georgia’s successful cooperation with Finland within the scope of the EU twining projects in different sectoral areas needs to be highlighted. 

Inter-parliamentary cooperation is intensive between the two countries. Parliamentary delegations exchange visits regularly. Friendship Groups are functioning at the Parliaments of both countries. Worthy of special mention is the official visit of the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia to the Republic of Finland in 2022.

Bilateral relations in the trade-economic and tourism sectors are increasingly dynamic. Georgia regularly participates in the largest travel fair in Northern Europe “MATKA”. In 2020, Georgia was named „Foreign Destination of the Year”. 

Of great importance, in terms of deepening Georgian-Finnish business ties, was the Georgia-Finland Business Forum held in Tbilisi in October 2022.
Cooperation is active in defence sector, more specifically, in areas of cybersecurity, reserve forces and mobilization. 

In 2019, the Ministries of Education of Georgia and Finland signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of general education.

In 2018, through the funding of the Georgian Group Alliance and with the support of the Finnish Educational Consortium, Finnish international school was set up in Saguramo, which is the first and only educational institution across the entire Caucasus region where the Finnish education model has been implemented.

Also worthy of mention are the important projects that were implemented with the support of the Finnish government and in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme [UNDP] to restore the Borjomi-Kharagauli forest ecosystems destroyed by the August 2008 war and to improve the water monitoring system.

Agreements signed between Georgia and Finland encompass such areas as economics, environmental protection and other fields.

Useful Links

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland 
Government of the Republic of Finland 
Parliament of the Republic of Finland [Eduskunta]
President of the Republic of Finland