The Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Timo Kivinen, travels to Sweden for a meeting with the Nordic Chiefs of Defence.
The meeting will discuss Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO). The annual meeting is hosted by Sweden's Supreme Commander, General Micael Bydén. Sweden is chairing NORDEFCO in 2023.
During the current year, cooperation will focus on adapting cooperation to the new European security policy situation and on continued support to Ukraine. One of the priorities for 2023 is to develop a new vision for Nordic defence cooperation.
The Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, General Kivinen, will attend the meeting together with the Deputy Chief Of Staff, Strategy, Major General Janne Jaakkola.
The Nordic countries are committed to NORDEFCO cooperation and its development
The changed security environment in Europe has promoted Nordic defence cooperation. The meeting will discuss the possibilities for developing cooperation. Increasing security and stability in Northern Europe, the Baltic Sea and the Arctic is crucial. The development and military efforts in these three areas affect the security of all the Nordic countries.
Despite the common security environment, each Nordic country has special characteristics due to its geostrategic location, which affects co-operation. The fact that not all Nordic countries are members of NATO also affects cooperation. At best, different perspectives and emphases complement each other. The combined impact of the Nordic countries is greater than its magnitude.
Joint actions raise the threshold for incidents and attacks. The purpose of interoperability, which is planned, built and trained in peacetime, is to enable the Nordic countries to jointly implement defence measures based on advance planning in all circumstances.
