Defence cooperation between Sweden and Finland in a new era

The cooperation of Finland and Sweden with NATO has been extensive since the 1990s, and we now stand on the threshold of a full-scale integration into the defence alliance. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Finnish and Swedish inclusion processes should at least be close to reaching their goals during the coming autumn. The autumn of 2022 will thus be characterized by a far-reaching integration process.

The countries are expected to contribute to the defensive capabilities of the defence alliance, and negotiations on related forms and demands are underway. In parallel with them, a number of defence reforms are to be implemented in our countries.

What will Finland and Sweden expect when their memberships come to effect? What will the countries’ memberships mean for each other and for NATO? How will the countries’ memberships influence Nordic cooperation within NATO and in the Nordic Countries? What kind of impact will the memberships have on the stability of the Nordic-Baltic region?

PROGRAMME

9:15 Coffee

10:00 Moderator Mr Stefan Wallin, consultant, former Minister of Defence

Welcome
Mr Victor Andersson, Programme director, Hanaholmen

10:10 Keynote
Mr Jörg See, Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning, NATO

10:30 Finland and Sweden – close and long-standing partners of the United States
Mr Douglas T. Hickey, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland

10:45  Discussion

11:15 Ministers of Defence
Mr Antti Kaikkonen, Minister of Defence, Finland
Dr Pål Jonson, Minister of Defence, Sweden

11:45 Lunch sandwich

12:15 Researcher dialogue
Dr Matti Pesu, Leading researcher, FIIA, Finland
Mr Eoin McNamara, Ph.D. researcher, University of Tartu
Dr Ann-Sofie Dahl, Associate Professor International Politics, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council
Dr Kristi Raik, Director, Estonian Foreign Policy Institute

13:15 Defence cooperation in the light of approaching NATO memberships
Mr Antti Häkkänen (National Coalition Party), Chair of the Defence Committee, Finnish Parliament
Mr Jari Ronkainen (Finns Party), Vice-Chair of the Defence Committee, Finnish Parliament
Mr Peter Hultqvist, (Social Democratic Party) Chair of the Committee on Defence, Swedish Parliament
Mr Sven-Olof Sällström (Sweden Democrats) Vice-Chair of the Committee on Defence, Swedish Parliament

14:00 Closing

Welcome to Hanaholmen!

Organizers: The Swedish-Finnish Cultural Foundation and Hanaholmen

Language: Finnish, Swedish, English.

Additional information: Project Manager Tina Räihä, tina.raiha(at)hanaholmen.fi

Are you interested in attending the event? Please contact: info(at)hanaholmen.fi