Secretary of National Defense (SND) Gilberto C. Teodoro, Jr. received H.E. Annika Thunborg, the Ambassador of Sweden to the Philippines, during the Ambassador’s courtesy call at the Department of National Defense (DND) on August 14, 2023.

The Philippine and Swedish sides noted the fruitful cooperation between the two countries and reaffirmed their common commitment to a long-term partnership. Both sides also stressed the need to further advance defense cooperation in light of today’s challenges.

Exchanging regional security situation updates, Ambassador Thunborg noted the developments in the South China Sea (SCS)/West Philippine Sea (WPS) and conveyed Sweden’s support for the Philippines’ position and upholding the rules-based international order. Welcoming the support from Sweden and other like-minded partners, Secretary Teodoro hoped for a global consensus on the 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling on the SCS and underscored the importance of the Philippines’ enforcement of its sovereign rights over its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

On modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to more effectively protect the country’s territorial integrity and interests in its EEZ, Secretary Teodoro emphasized that whatever defense acquisition the Philippines will pursue must be sustainable, interoperable, and supportable. Recognizing the Philippines’ need for a modern Philippine Air Force (PAF), Ambassador Thunborg highlighted Sweden’s offer of its flagship multirole fighter aircraft, the Saab JAS-39 Gripen.

Both sides looked forward to the ratification and implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) concerning Cooperation in the Acquisition of Defense Materiel, which was signed between the Philippines and Sweden last June 3, 2023 in Singapore. In anticipation of possible projects in the future, the Swedish Ambassador proposed to facilitate the exchange of information on the two countries’ differing financial systems and financing packages that Sweden could offer.

On other areas, both sides also took note of possible cooperation between the Philippines and Sweden on capacity-building on disaster resilience and management.