Published: 10:00, June 8, 2022 | Updated: 10:22, June 8, 2022
Finland, Sweden sign military hosting agreement
By Xinhua

HELSINKL - The Finnish Ministry of Defence on Tuesday announced the signing of a Memorandum of Host Nation Support between Finland and Sweden.

The memorandum covers "separately agreed measures to be taken by a host nation to support the capabilities of forces of another state," a spokesperson for the ministry was quoted in saying in a press release.

From Finland's perspective, the key objective is to ensure that military assistance can be received effectively.

 Spokesperson, Finnish Ministry of Defence

The document was signed by Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen and Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist in Reykjavik, Iceland.

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"From Finland's perspective, the key objective is to ensure that military assistance can be received effectively," the release read.

The concept of "military hosting" became part of the Finnish political language in 2014 when Finland signed a memorandum on hosting with NATO.

The memorandum was discussed as "an agreement" by Finnish media, which created political arguments in the country that the pact should have been submitted to parliament, as international agreements in Finland are. In that case, parliament had only been informed.

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Jarmo Lindberg, the then commander of defense forces, said the hosting agreements "standardize administrative arrangements" and reduce the need for separate protocols and technical agreements.