Finland and Denmark have both announced the closure of their respective embassies in Myanmar by 2026, ending the decades-long diplomatic operations in the conflict-torn Southeast Asian nation, as part of a larger overhaul of their overseas network.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland was the first to disclose the planned exit from Myanmar in a November 28 statement, attributing the decision “to operational and strategic reasons, which are linked to changes in… political situation and… limited commercial and economic relations with Finland.”
“The aim is to concentrate resources on countries that are strategically important to Finland,” read the statement.
The move comes as Myanmar grapples with a bloody civil war that follows the military’s seizure of power in a 2021 coup.
The country’s junta is currently preparing to carry out phase-by-phase general elections, beginning December 28, while armed clashes between army troops and resistance forces remain persistent in major parts of the country.
The United Nations, and several civil society organisations, have denounced the military-hosted poll as “sham,” claiming it lacks inclusivity and fairness, with the majority of opposition leaders, who won the last elections in 2020, either exiled or jailed.
But Myanmar is not the only conflicted nation in which Finland will close its embassies next year.
Preparations for closing the Finnish embassies in Pakistan and Afghanistan are also underway, the ministry informed in the statement, without specifying the timeline for the shut down of all three diplomatic offices.
“Decisions on closures are made by a decree of the President of the Republic,” it noted.
On the flip side of the outlined reforms for Helsinski’s international relations, the foreign ministry said it is “currently preparing to open commercial offices during 2026 in some locations where Business Finland previously had an office.”
“The changes to be made will help us to build a stronger and more competitive Finland and to manage Finland’s external relations in accordance with our priorities,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Elina Valtonen was quoted as saying.
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Amid ‘growing uncertainty’
Another Nordic country, Denmark, also unveiled on December 5 “a number of organisational adjustments,” including the closure of its embassy in Myanmar by late next year.
A statement from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the decision follows a gradual scale down of Denmark’s commitment in Myanmar since the military took over more than four years ago.
“The framework conditions for co-operation have significantly deteriorated since the military coup, and there are currently no indications that this will change,” read the statement.
“The resources will be redirected to other purposes, where Denmark has greater foreign policy and commercial interests,” it noted.
Accordingly, Denmark will open new embassies in Argentina and Albania in 2026, and will upgrade its existing office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to a Consulate General, said the foreign ministry
It added that a new Special Representative to Central Asia will also be appointed.
The ministry said the upcoming changes “should be seen in light of the government’s ambition to build new partnerships at a time of growing uncertainty.”
“We must have a strong and up-to-date foreign service that is present in the countries where our vital interests are at stake, and we have moved further in that direction today,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Lars Lokke Rasmussen was quoted as saying.
The Nordic House
The Danish and Finnish embassies are both situated in Yangon, Myanmar’s commercial hub and most populous city.
The two offices are found in the building known as the Nordic House, which also houses the diplomatic missions of Norway and Sweden.
Despite having formalised its diplomatic relations with Myanmar in 1955, Denmark only got to open its embassy in the country in August 2014.
The establishment of the Finnish embassy in Yangon also came late in September 2017, 63 years since the foundation of their diplomatic ties in 1954.
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