Nordic Defence Minister Meeting in Finland
Defence Ministers from the Nordic countries meet in Kotka, Finland, today and tomorrow to discuss Nordic defence cooperation, ongoing crisis management operations and current security and defence challenges.
The meeting is hosted by the Finnish Minister of Defence, Jyri Häkämies, a press release from the Finnish Government reads.
The other participants are the Minister of Defence of Norway Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen, the Minister of Defence of Denmark, Søren Gade, State Secretary Håkan Jevrell from Sweden, and Ambassador Hannes Heimisson from Iceland.
Former Norwegian foreign minister Thorvald Stoltenberg earlier this year concluded in a report on Nordic defence cooperation that the five Nordic countries should strengthen security cooperation in the Arctic, BarentsObserver reported.
Finland’s Minister of Defence Jyri Häkämies called the proposals for closer defence cooperation “interesting”, while head of the Finnish Parliament’s Defence Committee, Juha Korkeaoja said that the proposed recommendations could pose difficulties for Finland.
