Swedish-German Talk on Defence: Approaches and Insights from Stockholm and Berlin

In an increasingly uncertain geopolitical environment, robust Swedish-German defence cooperation is crucial to effectively respond to a growing roster of shared security interests and challenges. These include, but are not limited to, supporting Ukraine against Russia’s war of aggression, tackling Russian hybrid operations and grey-zone tactics, responding to growing tensions in the Northern European Arctic and finding common strategies to deal with great power rivalries. As both NATO and EU member states, Sweden and Germany have made substantial progress in deepening their bilateral defence cooperation, yet potential for even closer collaboration remains. Against this backdrop, the Jarl Hjalmarson Foundation and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung's Nordic Countries' Programme are pleased to present the "Swedish-German Talk on Defence", the first of two seminars exploring security and economic ties between the two countries. This first seminar will discuss shared defence-related challenges and ways of responding to them, highlighting differences and commonalities between German and Swedish approaches, exploring opportunities for even closer collaboration and the further exchange of knowledge, experiences and best practices. Speakers include: Pål Jonson (Swedish Minister of Defence) Carl Bildt (Former Prime Minister of Sweden) Prof. Dr. Carlo Masala (Professor of International Politics at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich) Ludger Siemes (German Ambassador to Sweden)