Chief of Defence Command Finland visits Sweden – Finland and Sweden tighten their cooperation in the High North and Baltic Sea

Chief of Defence Command Finland, Lieutenant General Vesa Virtanen visited Boden, Sweden 2-3 September 2026. The topic of the visit was Finnish-Swedish defence cooperation (FISE), particularly from the perspective of Forward Land Forces Finland (FLF Finland).

Defence cooperation between Finland and Sweden has further tightened and evolved during the last few years. Lieutenant General Virtanen's visit to Sweden focused particularly on FLF Finland, which was established in June 2026. Finland is its host nation. FLF Finland consist of a Multinational Staff Element in Rovaniemi, Finland and of a battlegroup based in Boden, Sweden. The battlegroup is able to move rapidly from its base in Sweden to Finland's side of the border.

The Chief of Defence Command Finland inspected the battlegroup and met with its commander.

"The unit specialises in Arctic conditions, which is important not only to Finland but to the entire Alliance's deterrence and defence. I was impressed, seeing the trained and motivated unit in action", Lieutenant General Virtanen said.

"Our cooperation with Sweden has advanced steadily, which we can now see as concrete steps in operational planning and activities. I want to thank the Swedes for their commitment. Finland and Sweden are working side-by-side and we are stronger together", he concluded.

_{The Chief of the Defence Command inspected FLF Finland in Boden. Image: David Hakeberg / Swedish Armed Forces.}

During the visit Lieutenant General Virtanen and his hosts also had broader conversations on developing bilateral cooperation and cooperation in the High North. The conversations also included cooperation on the monitoring and safeguarding of territorial integrity, which Finland announced late August.