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Finland FOREIGN RELATIONS
![[JPEG]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jpeg.gif)
President Koivisto with President Ronald Reagan at the White
House, September 1983
Courtesy The White House (Pete Souza)
Finnish foreign policy is aimed at preserving the
nation's
political and territorial integrity and safeguarding the
continuity of its national existence. Geographical
reality--
having the Soviet Union as a neighbor, and defeat in World
War II
led Finland to adopt a postwar national security policy of
maintaining its freedom of action by dissociating itself
from the
conflicts of major powers. The main feature of
contemporary
Finnish policy, therefore, is neutrality. As the official
political doctrine, nonalignment has helped in the
establishment
of friendly relations with other countries regardless of
their
political systems.
Within the framework of Finnish neutrality, there are
three
important policy orientations: a special relationship with
the
Soviet Union; a traditional policy of close collaboration
with
the other Nordic countries--Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and
Iceland;
and an active policy as a member of the UN.
Data as of December 1988
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![[JPEG]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/finland/fi04_04a.jpg)
