Last Friday, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) hosted a summit with heads of state and government on Gotland. The meeting took place within the framework of the regional defence cooperation Joint Expeditionary Force. During the meeting, Ukraine was discussed, as well as how the countries can continue to strengthen their cooperation with NATO and develop the ability to handle hybrid threats, according to a press release from the Prime Minister's Office.

Earlier in the week, the British ship HMS Diamond docked at the Cruise Terminal in Visby, with the purpose of supporting the summit, according to a post on the Navy's Facebook page. Last Friday, the British aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth also docked in Gothenburg, which Defence Sector News previously reported on.

The UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson aboard HMS Diamond, where they had a bilateral meeting. Later in the day, the heads of government signed a bilateral strategic partnership. According to a press release from the Prime Minister's Office, it includes new cooperation in counter-terrorism and defence materiel export. If you want to read more about the agreement, you can do so here.

On 11 October, the trilateral naval exercise Autumn 23 also commenced. According to an article from the Swedish Armed Forces on 10 October, the purpose of the exercise is to train in jointly detecting and addressing various types of underwater threats. A total of 18 ships from Sweden, Finland, and the United Kingdom are participating.

The focus of the exercise can be seen in light of the fact that the gas pipeline Balticconnector, which runs between Finland and Estonia through the Gulf of Finland, has been damaged. The damage has likely occurred through external impact, according to a statement from Finnish President Sauli Niinistö. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) wrote on 10 October on X (formerly Twitter) that he had a lengthy conversation with Finland's Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and promised Swedish support to Finland to clarify what or who is behind the damaged gas pipeline.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also participated in part of the meeting via link. In a webcast address, the president said that the West needs new forms of cooperation and also to strengthen the existing ones.

After the meeting, the JEF countries made a joint statement that, among other things, condemned Hamas's terrorist acts in Israel and underscored Israel's right to self-defence. Furthermore, it also addressed Sweden's NATO membership, reaffirmed its support for Ukraine, and presented a vision for how the JEF cooperation should develop.