Sweden officially joins NATO becoming alliance’s 32nd member
"An epoch-making event," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. "It takes its rightful place at our table," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg remarked
Sweden has officially joined NATO in what its Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson called "an epoch-making event." The country opted for military neutrality for 200 years, but this stance ended yesterday (March 7), when Kristersson met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in an official ceremony to deposit Sweden's "instrument of accession" to the Alliance. "Good things come to those who wait. No better example," said Blinken.
The news was announced by the Scandinavian Prime Minister himself on X. "NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has just informed me that all NATO member states have accepted our accession protocol and has invited Sweden to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty. Sweden will soon be NATO's 32nd member." Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Stoltenberg greeted the new member and announced that the official ceremony will take place on Monday. "It’s official – Sweden is now the 32nd member of NATO, taking its rightful place at our table. Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole Alliance more secure. I look forward to raising their flag at NATO headquarters on Monday.
It’s official – #Sweden is now the 32nd member of #NATO, taking its rightful place at our table. Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole Alliance more secure. I look forward to raising their flag at NATO HQ on Monday.
— Jens Stoltenberg (@jensstoltenberg) March 7, 2024
Sweden has joined the military defence pact after its neighbor Finland. The two countries ensure the Western Alliance's control over the Baltic Sea, making "our part of the world safer. We Swedes will defend freedom together with those countries that are closest to us geographically, emotionally, and in terms of values," Kristersson said in his address to the nation, acknowledging the work done by his predecessor Magdalena Andersson. She is credited with first convincing her party, the Social Democrats, to change their historic pro-neutrality stance, and with initiating the accession process in May 2022.
"From today, the entire Nordic and Baltic region is part of NATO. This is a historic turning point that will strengthen the security of our entire region and the Alliance as a whole," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. Similar appreciation comes from Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda. In an official press release, he emphasized how Stockholm's membership will further enhance defence effectiveness and deterrence measures agreed upon during last year's Vilnius summit.
