Eleven defense ministers met in Bodø, Northern Norway, this week to discuss cooperation in the Joint Expeditionary Force coalition. There, the countries signed an agreement on enhanced partnership with Ukraine. […]
The meeting in Bodø this week is historic as it is the first ever meeting of the JEF Defence Ministers to be held within the Arctic Circle.
The choice of Bodø as a location was made deliberately, Norway’s Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik (Labor) points out.
– The cooperation in JEF shows how close partners in Northern Europe can act quickly and in a coordinated manner when our security is challenged. The fact that the meeting is being held here in Bodø underlines the strategic importance of the High North for both Norway and our allies, says the Minister of Defense in a statement. […]
The JEF meeting in the Arctic city is also historic for other reasons. Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal is participating in the coalition’s ministerial meeting in person for the first time.
During the meeting, it was also made clear that Ukraine and the Joint Expeditionary Force will form an ’Enhanced Partnership’.
More specifically, the participating countries signed a Combined Memorandum of Understanding (CMOU), which, among other things, sets out the scope for entering into “Enhanced Partnerships” between the JEF and other nations. Läs artikel