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11 5 2014

NCI Agency General Manager visits Sweden

On 16 October 2014, the NCI Agency General Manager Mr Koen Gijsbers met with representatives of the Swedish Ministry of Defence and industry in Stockholm. The visit was an opportunity for the NCI Agency to reinforce its long-standing relationship with Sweden and discuss the latest cooperation development as well as to pave the way for an enhanced future partnership.

The General Manager first met with Ms Lena Erixon, National Armaments Director and Director General of the Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMV). Ms Erixon briefed on the recent reform which gave the FMV overall responsibility for the provision of equipment and logistic support to the Swedish Armed Forces. Following this introduction, Mr Gijsbers presented the Agency's reform process, highlighting its similarities with the reorganization of FMV.

Mr Gijsbers then met with officials from the FMV and Swedish Armed Forces HQ .

The discussion focused on four domains:

- Benefits of a potential Multi-Year Programme of Work signature;

- Sweden's involvement in multinational initiatives such as Multinational Alliance Defence Analysis and Planning for Transformation (MN ADAPT), Multinational NATO Exercise and Training (MN NEXT) or Multinational Cyber Defence Capability Development (MNCD2);

- Sweden's intent to become an affiliate member of Federated Mission Networking (FMN);

- Current activities and priorities of the Nordic Defence Cooperation (NORDEFCO).

NCI Agency General Manager visits Sweden

Meeting the Defence Industry representatives

Mr Gijsbers also met representatives of the Swedish Defence Industry: Mr Pål Jonson – Director of Communication, Swedish Security & Defense Industry Association (SOFF) and Mr Henrik Vassalo – Vice President, Head of EU Affairs and NATO, SAAB.

Finally, Mr Gijsbers met with Mr Tommy Åkesson, Secretary General of the Defence Commission, who provided an update on the forthcoming parliamentary long-term defence decision. This decision will focus on strengthening Swedish Armed Forces' operational capabilities, expanding bilateral and multilateral defence cooperation, increasing Swedish overall cyber capability and further including the national defence context and culture.

This visit underpinned the strong relationship between Sweden and the NCI Agency and was positively concluded with an aspiration for further cooperation with the Agency, notably through a stronger involvement in multinational initiatives.