The five Nordic countries should strengthen security cooperation, former Norwegian foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg concluded in his report on Nordic defence cooperation handed over to the countries’ foreign ministers in February this year. That report, commissioned by the countries’ governments in June 2008, outlines 13 fields of potential cooperation, including a proposal on the formalization of a Nordic solidarity declaration. Closer cooperation will help the governments face joint challenges and cut costs, the report concluded.
As BarentsObserver reported, the Stoltenberg report has a strong focus on the Arctic.
The changing security and defence relations in the Nordic area can be illustrated by neutral countries Sweden’s and Finland’s increasingly close relations with NATO, evident in recent training activities, like the historic Loyal Arrow military drill in the Botnia Bay in June this year.
The Nordic Defence forum will be organized for the second time. This year’s forum is “designed to explore the political, policy and procurement factors behind force development and investment, event organizer media company Defence IQ informs in a press release. “The aim is provide a unique venue for interested commercial and government organisations seeking to understand how they can benefit from recent spending reviews by meeting the people who’ve made those decisions, the press release adds.
Among key speakers will be Major General Berndt Grundevik, Chief of Staff of the Swedish Army and Major General Henrik Røboe Dam Chief of Staff, Tactical Air Command, Royal Danish Air Force.
The event will be held in Stockholm 28-29 October.
