Belgium’s Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot arrived in Helsinki on Tuesday morning for a visit focused on the war in Ukraine.
Belgium is collaborating with Finland on the ground in Ukraine through the “Shelter Coalition” initiative. This Finnish-led programme involves Enabel, Belgium’s development agency, building and renovating civil protection shelters.
These shelters are designed with Finland’s dual-use approach: they serve as protective spaces during conflict and function as community centres, schools, or healthcare facilities during peacetime.
Minister Prévot emphasised the importance of sustained support for Ukraine, including military aid, humanitarian assistance, and long-term reconstruction projects.
During his visit, Prévot will meet with Finland’s Foreign Minister, Elina Valtonen, to discuss various issues, including Arctic security, Russian hybrid threats in the Baltic Sea—such as incidents involving the “ghost fleet”—transatlantic relations, and Middle Eastern developments.
The itinerary includes a visit to Merihaka’s civil protection shelter, which can accommodate 6,000 people. Finland’s shared-responsibility model involving the public, private sector, civil society, and citizens is seen as a valuable example for Belgium’s own emergency preparedness strategy.
Prévot will also board the icebreaker Kontio, one of Finland’s eight vessels of this kind. With 60% of the world’s icebreakers built in Finland, the country is a global leader in this field.
This expertise has gained strategic significance recently, with the US ordering 11 Finnish icebreakers worth €5 billion. Belgian companies specialising in maritime supply chain services may benefit from opportunities linked to this contract, according to Belgian officials.
