policy_strategy

New Swedish-British Bilateral Agreement

Sweden and the United Kingdom have signed a strategic partnership that includes cooperation in counter-terrorism and defence equipment export. The agreement strengthens the relations between the countries and comprises 60 points.

New Swedish-British Bilateral Agreement
Last Friday, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and Sweden. The signing took place in Visby (Gotland, Sweden) alongside the summit of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) countries. The partnership covers areas such as cooperation in counterterrorism and defence materiel export, including the Gripen E, according to a press release from the Prime Minister's Office on 13 October.

The signing of the strategic partnership is a follow-up to the Prime Minister's visit to London this summer. The Prime Minister and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak then decided to develop and sign a strategic bilateral partnership between the countries before the end of the year, according to the Prime Minister's Office. 

– In the partnership, we strengthen the strong cooperation in defence and security, including by establishing new collaboration on counterterrorism and defence materiel export. This means we are strengthening our relationship with an important security policy partner. It is of great significance for the overall security in Europe, says Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the press release.

– The agreement strengthens and accelerates our close cooperation over security, defence, research and innovation, energy, and trade, says Prime Minister Sunak on X (formerly Twitter).

In total, the partnership covers 60 points. The Prime Minister's Office states that it is a political declaration of intent that aligns with Sweden's EU legal obligations.

Among other things, it concerns defence materiel export and defence innovation, where the countries commit to cooperate in selling the JAS 39 Gripen E.

If you want to read the entire agreement, you can do so here.