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chairman donald trump The White House will host Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Thursday to sign a new icebreaker ship agreement, under which the Nordic nation will build four ships, while seven more will be built in Texas and Louisiana.
The Trump administration said the agreement would strengthen US national security in the Arctic and counter the growing presence of China and Russia in the region.
Icebreakers are specialized ships designed to navigate through ice-covered waters and the U.S. Coast Guard currently operates only two active Arctic security cutters.
U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bristol Bay breaks ice on the St. Clair River near Roberts Landing, Michigan during a winter ice-clearing mission, circa 2015. (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Stubb announced Thursday that the two countries would sign a memorandum of understanding on icebreaker cooperation later today.
“I will be signing a memorandum of understanding with President Trump on icebreaker cooperation,” Stubb wrote in a post on X. He said the agreement “will lay the foundation for commercial agreements between the U.S. Coast Guard and Finnish companies.”
“It’s great that Finnish expertise is trusted. Cooperation benefits Finland and the United States. This agreement would not have been possible without President Trump.”
The construction of 11 Arctic security cutters — new medium icebreakers used by the U.S. Coast Guard — is expected to cost about $6.1 billion, a White House official said. reuters,
The plan is expected to generate billions of dollars in new shipbuilding investment and create thousands of skilled trade jobs for Americans.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and President Donald Trump during the funeral of Pope Francis in Vatican City. The two leaders are scheduled to meet at the White House on Thursday to sign a new US-Finland icebreaker agreement. (Jakub Porzycki/Nurfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images)
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Three of the ships will be built by Dewey in Galveston, Texas, and four will be built by Bollinger Shipyards in Houma, Louisiana, the official said.
The first ship is expected to be delivered by 2028, the official said.
Trump has consistently called on the United States to acquire 40 new icebreakers to improve the US national security in the Arctic and to counter the growing influence of China and Russia.
The US President has also identified Greenland as being of vital strategic importance and has raised the possibility of purchasing Greenland from Denmark, which controls Greenland’s foreign affairs and defence. Denmark rejected this idea outright.
The Helsinki government said last year that Finland is the world’s leading producer of icebreakers, with about 80% of existing ships designed by its companies and about 60% of them built in its shipyards.
A Russian icebreaker navigates thick Arctic sea ice toward the North Pole. The United States and Finland are moving forward on a deal to build 11 modern icebreakers for the U.S. Coast Guard. (Getty/Getty Images)
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Russia’s aggression is also expected to be discussed between Trump and Stubbs, who have established friendly relations since Trump came to power in January. ukraine,
The two met at the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in March and played a round of golf. They were also seen sitting and chatting with each other at Pope Francis’ funeral ceremony at the Vatican in April.
Reuters contributed to this report.
