April 7th, 2014 By Swedish Radio - defencetalk.com

The Defence Minister of Sweden, Karin Enström, Sweden, and the Defence Minister of Brazil, Celso Amorim, held an official meeting in Stockholm, upon the kind invitation of the Swedish side, on April 3rd, 2014.

The Ministers recalled the 2009 Plan of Action of the Sweden-Brazil Strategic Partnership, which early identified the potential of bilateral cooperation in the defense area, including joint projects, industrial partnerships, technology transfer, education and training, particularly in the aeronautical field.

The Defence Ministers of Brazil and Sweden welcomed the decision by the Brazilian government – taken on December 18, 2013, and based on technical criteria, in particular the ones related to technological and industrial offsets – to select the proposal presented by Swedish company SAAB in the bidding process called FX-2, related to the provision of fighters to equip the Brazilian Air Force.

The Ministers announced the opportunities for a fruitful long term association between Brazil and Sweden in the field of military aircraft, its technologies and its market.

The Ministers expressed that this association is not only limited to the equipping of the Brazilian Air Force but rather a long-term, strategic cooperation.

The Ministers of Defense of Brazil and Sweden thus decided to launch the Brazilian-Swedish Strategic Partnership in Military Aeronautics.

In that regard, the Defence Ministers of Sweden and Brazil took note of the agreements that are already in force and that offer solid base to the conformation of the Strategic Partnership in Military Aeronautics:

    the Memorandum of Understanding Brazil – Sweden on Cooperation in Defence Matters, signed in São Paulo in July 7, 2000;

    its Amendment, signed in Rio de Janeiro on 24 April 2001;

    Agreement between the Administration for Swedish Defence Material – Forsvarets Materielverk – and the Brazilian Air Force on the Protection of Military Classified Information on the JAS 39 Gripen program, adopted in September 1997 and its Supplement No. 1, adopted in 1998.

With a view to providing continuous strength to the Strategic Partnership, the Defence Ministers agreed to sign today a new Framework Agreement for Defense Cooperation between Brazil and Sweden, which shall replace, when it enters into force, the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding on Defense Cooperation.

The Ministers also saluted the signature, on the same date, of the Agreement on the Exchange and Protection of Classified Information by the Chief Minister of the Cabinet of Institutional Security of the Presidency of the Republic and the Head of Military Intelligence and Security Service of the Armed Forces of Sweden.

The Defence Ministers agreed that the next steps include:

    a deepened political dialogue on defence issues, as well as global topics of mutual interest;

    adoption of a Protocol on Cooperation in Military Aeronautics, which shall define specific terms for, among others, the bilateral cooperation between Air Forces;

    a process forward on export control to third countries; and

    creation of the Office of the Brazilian Defense and Air Force Attaché in Stockholm, in reciprocity to the creation of the Office of the Swedish Defence Attaché in Brasilia.

In reiterating their high expectations regarding the Strategic Partnership between Brazil and Sweden in Military Aeronautics, the Ministers saluted the broader bilateral cooperation in defense and military issues.

The ministers reaffirmed the intentions of their Governments to jointly explore synergies regarding the testing, training, logistics, operations and future upgrades of the Gripen system. They looked forward to the inaugural meeting of a Joint Working Group on Military Cooperation within the Framework Agreement, scheduled to meet in Brasilia in August, 2014.

With a view to following up on the bilateral cooperation agenda, the Minister of Defense of Brazil invited the Minister of Defence of Sweden to undertake a visit to Brazil in 2014.

April 2, 2014 defense-aerospace.com/

(Source: Radio Sweden; published April 1, 2014)

Sweden's New Defence Poorly Planned

The National Audit Office criticised the government and the armed forces on Tuesday for not doing enough to ensure the long-term funding of the nation's defence.

In 2009, Sweden's armed forces went from a conscript system to become a professional force, but according to the National Audit Office, the budget for the big change has been too tight. The government is now told it needs to "improve the economic conditions to reach the goals long-term".

The equipment budget for the next ten years alone needs another SEK 30-50 billion, according to the report.

The switch-over to professional armed forces also means recruiting new staff with different competencies, something that has not happened fast enough.

In a statement, the auditor Jan Landahl said "extensive rationalisations" are necessary. But whether that is enough, or more money is needed, he did not want to say. "It is pretty tough. You are supposed to lower the staffing costs at the same time as you have to add new staff for the new organisation," Landahl told the news agency TT.

In a comment, Defence Minister Karin Enström said the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces have been working hard for the past year and a half to review the budget. She says the government has already decided on a gradual increase in the defence budget. "I can also see that further increases will be necessary," she told TT.

She adds that the crisis in Crimea has changed the security situation in Europe. "We are prepared to strengthen our capability, and then you also have to pay what it costs," she said.

3 mai 2013 EUTM Mali

La ministre de la défense suédoise, Madame Karin ENSTRÖM, est venue rencontrer le détachement suédois à Koulikoro le jeudi 02 Mai 2013. Elle a tout d’abord été accueillie par le général Dembélé, Chef d’Etat Major Général des Armées des Forces Armées Maliennes, à l’entrée du camp de Koulikoro, puis le Colonel Paczka, commandant le camp d’entraînement d’EUTM Mali, lui a présenté du matériel sur lequel le bataillon Waraba est instruit. Enfin, elle s’est déplacée sur le terrain où elle a rencontré les cadres suédois en charge de la formation d’une compagnie d’infanterie du bataillon malien.

Rentrée à Bamako, la ministre de la défense a eu un échange de vues sur la formation européenne et sur la participation suédoise à la mission EUTM Mali avec le général Lecointre au cours d’un repas de travail.