Norway and Sweden should consider closer cooperation in defence including procurement of defence material, DPA QUOTED the defence force chiefs of the Nordic neighbours as saying. The two defence chiefs outlined their case in a joint article and a report presented Friday to the defence ministers of both nations. "New challenges demand new means of cooperation," Supreme Commander of the Swedish Armed Forces Hakan Syren and Norway's Chief of Defence Sverre Diesen said in the Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter. "The globalization of security policy challenges combined with increased technological costs mean that multinational cooperation will in future become more important," the defence chiefs said. Norway is a member of the defence alliance NATO while Sweden is not, although it cooperates with NATO within the Partnerhsip for Peace (PFP) framework. With the end of the Cold War, both countries have launched reforms of their defence forces and are revamping them to take on new tasks, including international peacekeeping missions. By cooperating, procurements of military material could be made more effective and could include systems like submarines or tanks, the defence chiefs said. Other fields included coordinating training and exercises as well as research and development. Benefits were likely over a 20-year perspective but also in the near future, they said, adding that cooperation could complement defence and security cooperation within NATO and the European Union. Further defence budget cuts were rumoured in the budget due to be presented by the Swedish government next month. Syren earlier this week said in a television interview that further defence cuts were not feasible in view of the tasks the defence forces have to undertake. The suggested cooperation would however not include procurements of jet fighters where Norway is seeking to replace its aging fleet of F-16s. The Swedish-made JAS 39 Gripen is one of three options the Norwegian Air Force is considering along with the US made Joint Strike Fighter and the Eurofighter.
