Reykjavik, 28 October 2024
The Nordics and Europe must invest more in Ukraine’s defense industry. This is the message from Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Reykjavik, Iceland today. Here she takes part in a Nordic-Ukrainian meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the prime ministers from Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The heads of state and government must talk about how the Nordic countries can help Ukraine and support President Zelenskyy’s victory plan.
“We have an obligation to maintain our strong support for Ukraine. Because Putin doesn’t stop. We agree on that in the Nordic circle. We need to invest more in Ukraine’s defense industry so that Ukraine can produce the weapons they need. It is effective. And the weapons get to the front line faster. In the Nordic countries, we also completely agree that Ukraine belongs to the Euro-Atlantic family,” says Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
The Nordic countries are among the largest contributors of military support to Ukraine in terms of their size. Denmark has supported Ukraine with DKK 51.9 billion. DKK in military support and DKK 5.2 billion. DKK in civil support since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Thus, Denmark remains one of the countries that has provided the most support to Ukraine.
On Tuesday 29 October, Nordic leaders and the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers will meet for, among other things, to discuss migration and cross-border crime in the Nordic region.
“We Nordic countries share values and interests, and we agree that solutions must be found to the massive migration challenges facing Europe. Fortunately, more and more countries are ready to think about new, sustainable solutions. At the same time, we in the Nordics must take a tougher stance against organized, cross-border crime. It must be stopped. From the Danish side, we are ready to give the police what they need,” says Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
On Tuesday, the Nordic prime ministers will also participate in the Nordic Council’s 76th session. Here, the Nordic leaders will discuss peace and security in the Arctic with the Nordic parliamentary assemblies.
Source – Norwegian Government (by email)