Official press releases, news and speeches that the minister has held are located in this section. The Ministry of Defence publishes all of its press releases and news in Finnish and Swedish and many of them in English, too.
Press Releases
Nordic defence ministers sign NORDEFCO's new Vision
Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen attended the ministerial meeting for Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) in Tòrshavn, the Faroe Islands on 29-30 April 2024.
On Tuesday 30 April, the defence ministers signed the political steering document for the Nordic defence cooperation, new Vision 2030 for NORDEFCO. The Vision will guide Nordic defence cooperation in the coming years.
The weakened security situation in the neighbouring regions and the Nordic alliance have created the conditions for even deeper Nordic defence cooperation.
"The new Vision means major changes to NORDEFCO and to the cooperation between the Nordic countries. The greatest change is that operational cooperation is now also included. The Nordic countries share a land border that is almost 1,500 kilometres long with Russia. Together we have more than 250 fighter planes and more than 350,000 soldiers, and we are also fully prepared to defend every corner of our territory," Minister of Defence Häkkänen says.
The main focus of the Vision is on improving interoperability. Cooperation on capabilities and defence materials will be developed as well. The key areas for cooperation also include military mobility, logistics and security of supply.
"We will invest even more in the security of NATO in the coming years. NORDEFCO and the capability of the Nordic countries to work together will strengthen the whole alliance and Euro-Atlantic security,” Minister Häkkänen says.
Inquiries: Johanna Hämäläinen, Senior Specialist, Ministry of Defence, tel. +358 295 140 086, and Kristian Vakkuri, Head of Communications, for communications matters related to the meetings, tel. +358 295 140 123.