SECRETARY RUBIO: Well, welcome. Thank you. 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 I think is self-explanatory to many people about how important that is. It's the foundation of tech, 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, in refining, and in processing that makes it 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 today. And Finland has world-class capabilities in quantum, in telecom, in nuclear, and in nuclear energy, in space systems, in engineering, in biotech. I mean, you name it, and Finland has world-class capabilities, so it's an incredibly important partnership for us.
These are two great and important agreements. We're very happy that you're here. We're happy to sign it with you, and we look forward to doing even more just in the months and years to come. So thank you, and welcome to Washington.
FOREIGN MINISTER VALTONEN: Thank you so much, Marco. It's a great honor to be here in Washington D.C. with my colleague, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We had a very fruitful and constructive discussion, and this was already our third bilateral meeting in Washington during Secretary Rubio's tenure. We have also met several times on the sidelines of the UN and NATO 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.
The economic ties between Finland and the United States have strengthened substantially in the past decade, particularly Finnish exports to the U.S. and Finnish companies' investments in the American economy, creating jobs and prosperity. Key areas of cooperation, like the Secretary mentioned, besides icebreakers as well, include industrial products, connectivity, artificial intelligence, and several other fields of cutting-edge digital technology. The two-way trade in goods and services has grown by over 60 percent just in the past few years, and the U.S. direct investment in Finland has more than doubled. The ever-closer Finnish-U.S. security and defense ties have further reinforced the wider economic relationship.
We look forward to fortifying this momentum, and today, with the signing of our two documents, another important milestone. The Critical Minerals Framework and the Technology Prosperity Deal will deepen mutually beneficial trade, economic, and technological cooperation between our countries, and strengthen our position in the world.
Thank you.
SECRETARY RUBIO: So first we'll sign the Critical Minerals Framework.
(The Critical Minerals Framework Memorandum of Understanding was signed.)
FOREIGN MINISTER VALTONEN: For the world to see.
(The Technology Prosperity Deal Memorandum of Understanding was signed.)
FOREIGN MINISTER VALTONEN: Another day in the office. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you.
