Secretary of War Pete Hegseth welcomed Pål Jonson, Sweden's minister of defense, to the Pentagon today for a bilateral engagement.
At the meeting's outset, both leaders spoke highly of the U.S. and Sweden's mutually beneficial military relationship, as well as the progress that Sweden has made since officially becoming a member of NATO, March 7, 2024.
"The military relationship between the U.S. and Sweden, of course, is incredibly important; and we very much appreciate Sweden's increased leadership in defense and security issues in Europe … as well as the rapid integration into NATO in just over a year," Hegseth told Jonson and his delegation.
During his brief remarks, Jonson acknowledged U.S. support for Sweden's integration into the organization.
"Thank you, also, for the support for us being integrated into NATO, because we really tried to hit the ground running by not coming into NATO just by consuming security, but actually producing security," Jonson explained.
Jonson said Sweden aims to deliver security and hard power, making sure that the country can deter and defend "every inch of allied territory."
Hegseth also praised Sweden and other NATO countries' commitment to spend 5% of their gross domestic product on defense by 2035.
"Sweden has already led the charge and responded to this call for action to increase defense spending, which is quite meaningful to [the War Department] and President [Donald J.] Trump," Hegseth said.
In addition to Sweden's strong progress with NATO, Hegseth and Jonson also discussed both countries' efforts to mutually ramp up their defense industrial bases.
"I think it's going to be critical between our two countries that cooperation helps us build the strong forces, the hard power," Hegseth said.
"That's what it comes down to: hard power needed to preserve peace," he continued.
"I think, sir, that this is an area where we both punch above our weight," Jonson said, regarding defense production between the two countries.
"Right now, we are at the stage where we need more defense. We need to scale up production. We need to transform economic clout into combat power as well," he continued, adding that he agrees there are many ways the U.S. and Sweden can work to mutually build up their defense industrial bases.
Jonson had praise for Sweden's participation in the National Guard's State Partnership Program that began in 2024. In the program, the National Guard pairs up U.S. states with allied countries for military-to-military engagements in support of mutual defense security goals.
"Working with your National Guard in the state of New York has exceeded even our expectations, and [it] has been very rewarding for us, as well," he said.
Before ending the public portion of the bilateral exchange, both leaders shared pleasantries.
"Mr. Secretary … it's great to see you here at the Pentagon, and we look forward to our discussions," Jonson told Hegseth.
"We're grateful to have you at the Pentagon; thanks for being here," Hegseth told Jonson.