Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Justice visit Türkiye
Published
On 21 January 2025, Minister for Foreign Affairs Maria Malmer Stenergard and Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer travelled to Ankara to launch Sweden and Türkiye’s bilateral security dialogue, Security Compact. In talks with their Turkish counterparts, joint efforts to combat terrorism and cross-border organised crime and current international affairs were discussed.
At the NATO Summit in Vilnius in 2023, Sweden and Türkiye agreed to launch Security Compact, a new format for talks. This dialogue is a way to continue cooperation on counterterrorism and security issues that was developed during Sweden’s NATO accession process.
The first meeting in this new format was held during the ministers’ joint visit to Ankara on 21 January. Türkiye was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan and Deputy Minister of Interior Mehmet Aktaş.
During the visit, the Swedish ministers presented a roadmap for strengthening cooperation with Türkiye on combating terrorism and organised crime to their Turkish counterparts. Sweden’s continued efforts to combat terrorism and organised crime are based on the respective national strategies for these areas, which were adopted by the Government in 2024. The Government has also recently tasked relevant government agencies with strengthening their international cooperation.
The roadmap focuses on links between terrorism and organised crime, enhanced information-sharing between law enforcement authorities, financing of terrorism and organised crime, expanded judicial cooperation and increased cooperation on counterterrorism in international forums.
Following the meeting, the Swedish ministers and the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs took part in a joint press conference.
“The Government prioritises the work to combat cross-border crime and terrorism. To succeed with these efforts, we must strengthen our cooperation and information exchange with our Allies, such as Türkiye,” said Ms Malmer Stenergard, who also emphasised the value of talking with her Turkish counterpart about current foreign policy challenges, such as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, developments in Syria and the way forward for Israel and Palestine.
“Neither terrorism nor organised crime recognises national borders, which is why it’s crucial to cooperate closely with partners and Allies to achieve concrete results in criminal investigations and other measures,” emphasised Mr Strömmer, who also expressed appreciation for the good cooperation that is already ongoing at government agency level.
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