Deputy Secretary General welcomes NATO’s strong partnership with Sweden
NATO Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller welcomed the Alliance’s strong partnership with Sweden in a visit to Stockholm this week. Meeting with Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist on Tuesday (10 September 2019), the Deputy Secretary General praised Sweden’s contributions to international security, including through NATO missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Iraq. She thanked Sweden for its participation in NATO exercises and contribution to Baltic Sea security.
The Deputy Secretary General also held separate talks with State Secretary Annika Söder and State Secretary Elisabeth Backteman. The leaders discussed political and security issues, including NATO-EU cooperation, hybrid warfare and resilience.
Later on Tuesday, the Deputy Secretary General delivered a keynote speech on arms control at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs. She stressed the importance of adapting the current arms control regime to changes in the international security environment and advances in weapons technology. She noted that the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2020 will be an important milestone, and thanked Sweden for its role in rebuilding trust and confidence in arms control and global disarmament. Gottemoeller added that NATO is playing its part, supporting global arms control efforts.
While in Stockholm, the Deputy Secretary General also visited the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations and the Swedish Armed Forces International Centre, meeting with the Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces, General Micael Bydén.