International defence cooperation

This defence policy direction describes the Government’s ambition to develop its defence engagement and cooperation with partner countries in the Indo-Pacific region.

The security situation has deteriorated in both the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific regions in recent years. When Japan’s Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara met with Sweden’s Minister for Defence Pål Jonson in Stockholm on 25 July, discussions included deepened cooperation to tackle these challenges.

On 25 July, Minister for Defence Pål Jonson will receive a visit from Japan’s Minister of Defense Minoru Kihara for a bilateral meeting at the Maritime Museum in Stockholm.

On 12 July, Minister for Defence Pål Jonson signed a Letter of Intent concerning security cooperation between Sweden and the U.S. state of New York. The cooperation will be mainly between the Swedish Armed Forces and the New York National Guard as part of the United States’ State Partnership Program (SPP).

Sweden will enter a coalition together with eleven other countries, which, through joint procurement, will support Ukraine’s armed forces with unmanned aerial vehicles – drones. Systems training may also be included.

The Nordic countries are entering into a cooperation to promote access to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden’s airspace for NATO’s air operations. On 9 July, a declaration of cooperation was signed by the countries’ defence ministers in connection with the NATO Summit in Washington DC.

Speech by Minister for Defence Pål Jonson at the Swedish National Day reception organised by the Embassy of Sweden in the Philippines on 6 June 2024 in Manila. Check against delivery.

On 13–14 June, Pål Jonson will take part in a meeting of NATO Ministers of Defence in Brussels for the first time since Sweden became a full member of NATO. The agenda includes discussions about NATO’s deterrence and defence capabilities and preparations ahead of the NATO Summit in Washington DC in July.

Sweden held the NORDEFCO chairmanship in 2023 and the annual report provides a summary of the year. The Nordic Defence Cooperation was further deepened in 2023. Among other things, a new vision for the cooperation was adopted, Vision 2030.

The Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) is once again increasing its presence in the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic to help protect critical underwater infrastructure.

Minister for Defence Pål Jonson will travel to Singapore, Australia and the Philippines in the first week of June. He will participate in the Shangri-La Dialogue international defence summit and several bilateral meetings.

Speech by Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin at a seminar on 9 May 2024, arranged by the Embassy of Sweden in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with a meeting arranged by the United States for senior NATO officials responsible for resilience. Check against delivery.

The Government has decided to submit the Agreement on Defense Cooperation bill between Sweden and the United States to the Swedish Riksdag. The agreement complements Sweden’s NATO accession and strengthens the country’s defence by facilitating US military presence in Sweden.

On 5 March, Swedish Minister for Defence Pål Jonson and German Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius signed a letter of intent on deeper defence cooperation between Sweden and Germany.

On 29–30 April, Mr Jonson will travel to the Faroe Islands to take part in the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) meeting of defence ministers, held in Tórshavn.

On 5 March, Minister for Defence Pål Jonson received his German counterpart Boris Pistorius.