U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen signed agreements on critical minerals and emerging technologies during talks in Washington on Thursday (October 29)

Rubio said the minerals deal would strengthen critical supply chains, while the technology pact would deepen cooperation in key sectors.

Valtonen said the talks were productive and emphasized close U.S.-Finnish ties, calling cooperation between the two countries 'mutually beneficial.'

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 29, 2026) (STATE TV - Access all)

1. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO AND FINNISH FOREIGN MINISTER ELINA VALTONEN ENTERING ROOM AND SITTING DOWN AT TABLE

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE MARCO RUBIO SAYING:

"Well, welcome thank you for coming here. Thank you for being here in Washington. We're excited to be here today to announce these two agreements and sign these two agreements with Finland, which is a great partner. The first one we're going to sign is the Critical Minerals Framework, which at this point, you know, I think is self explanatory to many people about how important that is.

It's it's the foundation of tech. And, and we're partnering on that today. Everything from semiconductors to batteries to defense systems to energy infrastructure. All of this is dependent on that. And Finland, of course, has extraordinary expertise in mining and refining and and processing the base in an ideal and critical partner in the world on this topic.

And then we'll sign the Technology Prosperity deal, which is an important milestone in our partnership, on critical and emerging technologies. And Finland has world class capabilities, in water and telecom and nuclear and nuclear energy and space systems, and and engineering, biotech and you name it. And Finland has a world class capability. And so it's an incredibly important partnership for us.

These so these two great and important agreements. We're very happy that you're here. We're happy signing with you. And and we look forward to doing even more just in the, in the, in the months and years to come. So thank you. Welcome to Washington."

3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) FINNISH FOREIGN MINISTER ELINA VALTONEN SAYING:

"Thank you so much, Marco. It's a great honor to be here in Washington, DC with my colleague, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We had a very fruitful and constructive discussion. And this was already a third meeting in Washington during, Secretary Rubio's tenure. We have also met several times on the sidelines of even and nature meetings, most recently in New York a month ago, during the Arctic Allies meeting.

I am very grateful for this strong relationship and the mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries."

4. WHITE FLASH

5. RUBIO AND VALTONEN SIGNING AGREEMENT

6. WHITE FLASH

7. RUBIO AND VALTONEN WALKING AWAY