Last Friday, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed a strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and Sweden. The signing took place in Visby (on the Swedish island of Gotland, strategically located in the Baltic Sea) on the sidelines of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) summit. The partnership covers areas such as counter-terrorism cooperation and defence materiel exports, including the Gripen E fighter aircraft, according to a press release from the Swedish 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 earlier this summer. At that time, Prime Minister Kristersson and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed to develop and sign a strategic bilateral partnership between the two countries before the end of the year, according to the Prime Minister's Office.

"In this partnership, we are strengthening the already close cooperation on defence and security, including by establishing new collaboration on counter-terrorism and defence materiel exports. This means we are deepening our relationship with an important security policy partner. That is of great significance for the overall security of Europe," said Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the press release.

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

The partnership covers a total of 60 points. The Prime Minister's Office states that it is a political declaration of intent, in line with Sweden's obligations under EU law.

Among other areas, it addresses defence materiel exports and defence innovation, with both countries committing to cooperate on the sale of the JAS 39 Gripen E fighter aircraft.

To read the full agreement, click here.