The Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO) consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden: the overall purpose of NORDEFCO is to strengthen the participants’ national defence, explore common synergies and facilitate efficient common solutions. Cooperation is not new to the Nordic countries who, apart from sharing similar history, language and culture, also have a past in the political and military areas. The Nordic Council, formed in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Nordic Passport Union are examples of cooperation in spite of the substantially diverse foreign political circumstances under which the Nordic countries existed during the era of the Cold War. At a ministerial meeting by the end of 2009, it was decided to merge the three existing parallel cooperation structures into one and a Memorandum of Understanding between the all five Nordic nations on the establishment of NORDEFCO was signed 4 November 2009. The NORDEFCO Memorandum of Understanding opens up for NORDEFCO cooperation with nations outside the Nordic countries. The Nordic countries have always been strong supporters of the United Nations and have a long tradition of troop contribution to UN operations beginning with the very first UN Emergency Force in Suez/Sinai in 1956, followed by peace support operations side-by-side in Lebanon and the Balkans. Thousands of officers and civilians from around the world have ever since followed various courses at the Nordic training centres.
VISION 2025
In November 2018, the Nordic defence ministers signed ”Vision 2025”, which sets out the political framework and ambitions for the defence cooperation in the Nordic region towards 2025 through some general guidelines along with 16 specific goals. Vision 2025 raises the ambition of the Nordic defence cooperation by stating that it should apply not only in peacetimes but also in the event of a crisis or conflict. The aim is, among other things, to make NORDEFCO a platform for close political dialogue, information sharing, and, if possible, the coordination of common Nordic positions on possible crisis situations.
Read more on Nordefco.org
