Sweden signed defence cooperation agreement with United States in Washington

Sweden signed a defence cooperation agreement with the United States in Washington yesterday. It will allow the US to access all of the military bases in the Scandinavian country which is about to join the trans-Atlantic security alliance, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said the deal will create better conditions for Sweden to be able to receive support from the US in the event of a war or crisis. 

US Secretary of States, Lloyd Austin, remarked that by adding the capabilities of the Swedish armed



forces to NATO, will make them stronger. He added that America remains committed to addressing security challenges together.

The US struck a similar deal with Sweden’s neighbour, Norway, in 2021 and is currently negotiating such an agreement with two other Nordic countries, Finland and Denmark. Sweden and Finland decided to drop their long-standing policy of non-alignment and apply for NATO membership following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. Finland joined NATO in April this year.