International defence cooperation

On 20 October, Sweden’s Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist will participate in a meeting with his colleagues from the other Northern Group countries. The Northern Group is a security and defence policy forum with a focus on northern Europe.

On 8 October, Sweden’s Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist welcomed his Lithuanian counterpart, Arvydas Anušauskas, for a bilateral meeting in Stockholm. The security situation in the Baltic Sea region and further cooperation between Sweden and Lithuania were among the items on the agenda.

Letter of Intent between The Minister for The Armed Forces of The French Republic and The Minister for Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden concerning The Bilateral Defence Cooperation.

Swedish Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist today visited Joint Protector 21 in Älvdalen. Sweden is hosting the exercise held within the framework of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) defence cooperation.

Common security challenges and how the cooperation within the European Intervention Initiative (EI2) can be developed even further were some of the agenda items when EI2’s thirteen member countries met in Stockholm. Sweden and Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist hosted this year’s annual meeting.

24 September 2021, Stockholm, Sweden

We live in uncertain times. The geopolitical challenges today are more acute and complex than in recent decades. Russia just concluded the military exercise Zapad, displaying its military capabilities with a substantial volume of forces, while highlighting in its National Security Strategy presented last July that “Russia is preparing for a long-term conflict with the West”.

Statement of Intent on Enhanced Operational Cooperation among the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Norway and the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden (hereafter referred to as "the Participants").

A serious security crisis in the Nordic region would affect us all, and we need to be prepared and equipped to act together in peace, crisis and conflict. Coordination of national operational planning will improve our ability to act together if so decided.

Swedish Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist and French Minister of Defence Florence Parly and ministers or delegations leaders from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy will hold a press briefing at Karlberg Castle, Stockholm, on Friday 24 September at 15.00.

On 18–19 September, the annual NATO Days and the Czech Air Force Days will be held in Ostrava. For the second time, Sweden will assume the role of Special Partner Nation at NATO Days. Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist will deliver the opening address at the event and also hold bilateral meetings with the defence ministers from the Czech Republic and, Slovakia.

Today Peter Hultqvist, Minister for Defence of Sweden, and Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, signed a Joint Declaration on defence cooperation.

On 5 August, Swedish Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist met with British Minister for Defence Procurement Jeremy Quin in Stockholm. Current security policy issues and deepened Swedish-British defence research, capability and industrial collaboration were on the agenda.

On 30 June–1 July, Sweden’s Minister for Defence met his colleagues from the other member states of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) defence cooperation. During the ministerial meeting in Helsinki, Finland, they officially signed the JEF Policy Direction document, which sets key principles for further cooperation.

On 29–30 June, the defence ministers of Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, met in Tuusula just north of Helsinki, within the framework of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO). The deteriorated regional security situation and further enhanced cooperation was the focus of discussions during the first physical NORDEFCO ministerial meeting since the outbreak of the pandemic.

The defence ministers of the Northern Group, a security and defence policy forum, took part in a video conference on 9 June. The security situation in northern Europe was the main item on the agenda.

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s 2021 Spring Session, hosted by the Swedish Riksdag, opened today with introductory remarks from Sweden’s Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist. He emphasised the importance of transatlantic relations to the security of Europe, and how Russia is challenging the European security order.

A first meeting has taken place in a digital format between Sweden’s Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist and his Estonian counterpart, the new Minister of Defence Kalle Laanet. Among the items on the agenda were the security situation in the neighbourhood and development of the bilateral defence cooperation between Sweden and Estonia.

On 7 April, the Minister for Defence Peter Hultqvist, together with defence ministers from several other participating countries, took part in an international digital meeting on Task Force Takuba, a multinational special forces task force to which Sweden is contributing a 150-strong unit.