Military defence

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 9–11 July, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson took part in the NATO Summit in Washington DC together with Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström and Minister for Defence Pål Jonson. The member states agreed on new support to Ukraine and measures to strengthen NATO’s capability for deterrence and defence. NATO also celebrated its 75th anniversary during the summit.

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.

On 9–11 July, NATO’s 32 member countries are gathering for the NATO Summit in Washington DC. Sweden is represented by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström and Minister for Defence Pål Jonson. The Summit is the first one Sweden is attending as a full member of the defence Alliance.

On 4 July, the Government adopted Sweden’s first defence and security space strategy − The role of space in a new security environment.

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.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson received NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday 7 June. The agenda included bilateral talks and a demonstration of the Swedish Armed Forces’ activities on naval vessel HSwMS Carlskrona. They also held a joint press conference.

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.

The Government has decided to contribute aircraft to NATO Air Policing. The Swedish Armed Forces will thus have leeway to provide aircraft in the near future to carry out aerial surveillance under NATO’s command.

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.

Friday 31 May, Prime Minster Ulf Kristersson hosted a Nordic-Ukrainian Summit in Stockholm. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Iceland’s Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson took part.

At the third Nordic-Ukrainian Summit in Stockholm on 31 May, the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland and the Presidents of Ukraine and Finland issued the following statement:

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hosted a Nordic-Ukrainian Summit in Stockholm today, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the heads of state and government of the other Nordic countries taking part.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have signed an agreement on bilateral security cooperation between Sweden and Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Sweden to take part in a Nordic-Ukrainian Summit hosted by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Today, 29 May, the Government is presenting its 16th and largest military support package to Ukraine to date since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. Sweden will provide Ukraine with a completely new capability to strengthen its collective air defence. The package, which will be part of an upcoming additional amending budget, amounts to SEK 13.3 billion and will meet Ukraine’s prioritised needs.