Yesterday, March 7th 2024, Sweden became officially part of NATO or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Nordic country is the 32nd member of this alliance that is composed of USA, Canada, and some European countries.
For many years, Sweden has co-operated with NATO in keeping peace across the continent, but the Swedish government submitted an application to become part of the strong military coalition in mid-2022.
Before then, Sweden had remained neutral, even during the Cold War, when many countries of the world aligned themselves with either the US or the Soviet Union.
Benefits of Sweden Joining NATO
By joining NATO, Sweden stands to benefit. If the country were to suffer aggression as Ukraine has suffered aggression from Russia, NATO would readily send military forces to fight alongside Sweden.
Sweden is also a valuable addition to the North Atlantic coalition. The Nordic country has a skilled and strong military force, which can only make things easier for NATO in case of a mission of a military nature.
Sweden deposited its NATO accession instrument with the US at the American capital, Washington DC., underlining the country’s significant political milestone. Antony Blinken, the United States’ Secretary of State, officially received the NATO instrument, which the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, presented to him at the offices of the US state department.
Sweden’s final hurdle to join NATO was cleared towards the end of February 2024, when Hungary overwhelmingly voted in parliament to accept Sweden’s bid. Hungary was one of the two countries that until recently were opposed to Sweden’s bid to join the alliance.
The other country was Turkey. Nevertheless, in January 2024, the Turkish parliament overwhelmingly voted to accept Sweden’s bid. Both Turkey and Hungary became NATO members decades ago, and they are now glad that Sweden is a member of NATO.