Introduction
The Minister for the Armed forces of the French Republic, and The Minister for Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden, hereinafter referred to as the “the Signatories”
Considering that the defence relationship between the Ministry for the Armed forces of the French Republic and the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden aims at building a pillar of stability in Northern Europe and beyond;
Recalling that the security situation the two countries are facing is more severe and challenges are more complex than in decades;
Recognising that the French-Swedish defence co-operation promotes stability in the Baltic Sea Region and in Europe as a whole and beyond;
Reaffirming their willingness to promote international law and uphold the European security order and a strong and balanced transatlantic link;
Recalling that addressing the global and regional security challenges, requires close defence and military co-operation, particularly in the Sahel, and a strategic partnership between the Ministry for the Armed forces of the French Republic and the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden and their respective Armed Forces and Defence Agencies;
Reaffirming their commitment to the Mutual Assistance Clause – Article 42(7) of the Treaty on European Union;
Desiring to enhance security and bilateral defence co-operation;
The Signatories declare their intention to deepen and increase the practical co-operation between the Ministry for the Armed forces of the French Republic and the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden, their respective Armed Forces and other Defence Agencies by building on current co-operative activities and implementing new initiatives to work together more efficiently, reinforce interoperability and develop a common strategic culture in order to deploy alongside each other in military operations.
Objectives
The Signatories intend to develop new axes of bilateral cooperation, complement existing efforts and leverage existing structures, in order to:
- Intensify the strategic dialogue on security and defence issues;
- Develop strategic foresight and information sharing;
- Expand co-operation in the field of research and development;
- Expand co-operation in the field of defence capability development;
- Enhance interoperability between the Armed Forces;
- Improve the ability to conduct combined operations and
- Explore the possibility of co-operating in the fields of countering hybrid threats and grey zone activities in coordination with NATO and the EU.
Means
To achieve those objectives, the Signatories declare their common intention to conduct in particular the following co-operation:
- Regular meetings and information exchange at policy and military level;
- Increased practical co-operation between their respective Armed Forces and other Defence Agencies;
- Participation in education, training and exercises;
- Shaping exercise design to reflect bilateral co-operation priorities;
- Harnessing armament cooperation opportunities provided by the EU defence initiatives such as “Permanent Structured Cooperation” and “European Defence Fund”;
- Co-operation in multinational operations and
- Coordination of strategic communication regarding incidents.
Status
This Letter of Intent does not establish a legally binding commitment under international or national law.
This Letter of Intent is signed in two (2) copies in the English and French languages.
For The Ministry for The Armed Forces of The French Republic
Florence Parly
For the Ministry for Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden
Peter Hultqvist
