Society, politics & business
Hanating 2026
The annual Swedish-Finnish security and defence policy forum will be organized for invited guests in connection with the meeting of the Swedish and Finnish defence committees at Hanaholmen.
Sweden and Finland are assuming greater shared responsibility
Swedish-Finnish defence cooperation is taking further steps forward. Since Finland and Sweden became NATO Allies, their close bilateral relationship has evolved into increasingly integrated operational cooperation.
Sweden is contributing to Finland’s security and thereby also to our common Nordic security to an increasing extent, not least through the new cooperation on territorial surveillance and the protection of Finland’s territorial integrity. This marks a step in a broader development in which the two countries are, in practice, beginning to take joint responsibility for each other’s security.
In June, NATO’s Forward Land Forces Finland was established, with Finland as the host nation and Sweden as the framework nation. The Swedish contingent is based in Boden. A new Finnish-Swedish technical agreement on host-nation support was signed in December 2025 to facilitate military exercises and operations and to clarify how support requirements and practical arrangements should be handled.
Defence materiel cooperation is also deepening. In September 2026, Sweden and Finland signed a Letter of Intent on cooperation concerning their rocket artillery capabilities.
How has NATO membership changed Swedish-Finnish defence cooperation, and what does it mean in practice for our two countries to begin taking joint responsibility for each other’s security? What steps are needed to move from close bilateral cooperation towards genuinely integrated operational defence cooperation in areas such as command, logistics, host-nation support and territorial surveillance? How far can and should Sweden and Finland go in integrating their defence capabilities and defence materiel, and what is needed to ensure that this also strengthens common Nordic security in the longer term?
The registration will open in the first week of November.
Do you find the programme relevant from your professional perspective? For more information about participation, please contact Project Manager Tina Räihä, tina.raiha(at)hanaholmen.fi.
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