Finland welcomes Sweden to NATO

Finnish leaders on Thursday welcomed Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) immediately after becoming a member of the military alliance upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the Government of the United States in Washington DC.

President Alexander Stubb, who was visiting Norway made a phone call together with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson and congratulated Kristersson on Sweden’s NATO membership, said the President Office in a release.

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo in a video message released by the government also congratulated his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson.

“Today (Thursday) I am happy to welcome Sweden to NATO as the newest ally. Specially I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and his team and I would like to thank you Ulf personally for extremely close cooperation,” the Premier said.

Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen also welcomed Sweden to NATO, said the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in a post in the social media platform X.

“Welcome to NATO, Sweden! Välkommen till Nato, Sverige! This is a good day for Sweden, a good day for Finland and a good day for NATO. Sweden is Finland´s closest partner in security policy. We look forward to close cooperation with Sweden on NATO issues,” the ministry wrote in the post, quoting Valtonen as saying.

Sweden has become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Thursday. With Sweden’s accession, NATO now counts 32 countries among its members.

Finland and Sweden in May 2022 formally submitted their applications for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).