Deeper bilateral defence cooperation between Finland and Sweden
Published
Finland’s new Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen visited Sweden on Thursday 6 July to meet with Minister for Defence Pål Jonson. The ministers discussed matters such as Sweden’s upcoming accession to NATO and Sweden’s and Finland’s continued support to Ukraine.
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Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen and Minister for Defence Pål Jonson at the welcome ceremony.
Photo: Armin Dröge/Government Office of Sweden
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Minister for Defence Pål Jonson and Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen.
Photo: Armin Dröge/Government Offices of Sweden
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Minister for Defence Pål Jonson and Finland’s Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen arriving at the Government Office of Sweden.
Photo: Armin Dröge/Government Offices of Sweden
Thursday’s visit was Mr Häkkänen’s first visit abroad as Minister of Defence. The visit began with music by the Royal Swedish Navy Band, which played both countries’ national anthems when Mr Jonson received Mr Häkkänen at the Government Offices.
“We will continue to develop and deepen our good bilateral defence cooperation. We will also deepen cooperation between our two countries within the framework of the Nordic Defence Cooperation and through future cooperation in NATO,” Mr Jonson said after the meeting.
Other topics addressed at the meeting were continued cooperation on military equipment and regional security, including Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The two defence ministers agreed that Russia’s actions have led to a significant deterioration of the security situation. Finland and Sweden will therefore continue their support for as long as necessary.
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