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Sweden to be a NATO member

@newsonair - FILE PICS

News

• Sweden’s application to join NATO is approved by the Turkish parliament, removing the largest obstacle to the Western military alliance’s expansion after a 20-month wait.
• The majority-ruling alliance of President Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey’s general assembly decided 287–55 to accept Sweden’s 2022 application. NOTE: All NATO members must approve applications from countries that wish to join the alliance.
• About the approval:
  • In the upcoming days, Turkish President Erdoğan is anticipated to sign the bill into law following the ruling by Parliament. Ulf Kristersson, the prime minister of Sweden, responded to the announcement promptly, stating that his nation is getting closer to joining NATO as a full member;
  • According to Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, Hungary should ratify Sweden as soon as possible;
  • With the exception of the Russian coast and its enclave Kaliningrad, the whole Baltic coastline would become NATO territory if Sweden joined. For example, this would make it simpler to defend the Baltic States against a Russian attack. It would be far simpler to ship troops and equipment to Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania via Sweden.

@worldatlas.com

About Sweden

• The largest Nordic nation in terms of GDP, population, and landmass is Sweden, which is not a part of the Eurozone but is a member of the EU and Schengen visa program; NOTE: NATO has not yet included Sweden;
• In the first half of 2023, Sweden presided over the EU Council as its president. In 2024, Sweden will serve as the chair of the Nordic Baltic (NB8).
• Economy of Sweden:
  • The economy of Sweden is focused on services and industry sectors, particularly manufacturing, information technology, life sciences, the circular economy, and clean technologies;
  • When it comes to economies worldwide, Sweden routinely finds itself in the top two according to the Global Innovation Index.
• Geography of Sweden:
  • With a landmass of about 0.5 million square kilometers and a coastline spanning over 3,000 kilometers on the Baltic Sea, Sweden is divided from Norway by the Scandinavian mountain range over a distance of 1,600 kilometers;
  • Finland and Sweden share a land border spanning more than 500 km. Sweden and Denmark are connected to the south by a tunnel and a bridge;
• Which countries are Nordic and Scandinavian? The term “Nordic countries” encompasses Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland, as well as their associated territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and the Åland Islands, while “Scandinavia” refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden; NOTE: The Gulf of Bothnia is located in the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Sweden to the west and Finland to the east;
• Interesting Fact: One-third of Swedish territory (more than 150,000 square kilometers) is considered Arctic, and it is home to a population of 0.5 million people (mostly Saami). The Arctic Council has eight members, including Sweden.

India-Sweden Relations:

• Political Relations:
  • Commencing in 1948, diplomatic ties have grown stronger over the years, and in 2023 they reached their 75th anniversary;
  • Four ministerial visits from Sweden (Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade, Infrastructure, and Finance) have taken place in 2023 (January through October). Sweden hosted EAM in May of 2023. Approximately thirteen ministerial meetings took place between November 2022 and October 2023.
• Economic Relation:
  • India Sweden Investment and trade have increased significantly in recent years. From USD 3 billion in 2016 to USD 5.5 billion in 2022, trade in goods has increased;
  • Sweden’s third-largest trading partner in Asia is India. In the last five years or so, the number of Swedish businesses operating in India has grown from about 150 to about 260;
  • Over a comparable time period, the number of Indian businesses with a presence has grown from about 50 to 75.
  • Since the 1960s, Swedish companies have been primarily based in Pune, with a history spanning over a century and including Ericsson, Swedish Match Co., SKF, and ABB;
  • Over the last five years, the next wave of investment has increased even more.
• Indian Diaspora in Sweden:
  • An estimated 60,000 or more people are part of the Indian diaspora in Sweden, of which 42,000 are Indian citizens;
  • The majority of them work as professionals, mostly in the IT industry. In Sweden, there are a lot of Indian scholars and students and there are reportedly 1,500 Indian students;
  • In Sweden, there are several Indian Cultural Associations with offices in various cities, including Gothenberg, Uppsala, Lund, Malmö, Umeå, Kiruna, Helsingborg, and Västerås along with observing many different Indian festivals.

About NATO

• NATO is a security alliance comprising of 31 nations from North America and Europe, which was established in 1949 following the signing of the Washington Treaty and Finland became the alliance’s thirty-first member in April of 2023.
• NATO’s primary objective is to use both military and political means to protect the freedom and security of its members;
• It is a system of collective defense in which sovereign member states consent to defend one another against external attacks;
• An attack against one ally is an attack against all, according to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. The pledge of collective defense found in this article serves as the foundation of the Alliance.
• Headquarters: Belgium’s ‘Brussels.’
• Functions:
  • Political NATO fosters democratic ideals and allows members to confer and work together on defense and security-related matters in order to resolve disputes, foster confidence, and ultimately avert war.
  • Military NATO is dedicated to resolving conflicts amicably and it has the military might to conduct crisis management operations in the event that diplomatic efforts are unsuccessful.

Source: newsonair

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