Finland will sign a defence cooperation agreement (DCA) with the United States on December 18.

Through this agreement, Finland will receive US military and military logistics as part of its defense assistance. The Finnish government announced that on Thursday.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Maria Valtonen told reporters that the defence cooperation agreement will deepen our defense cooperation with the United States and play an important role in the crisis.

According to Valtonen, Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen will sign the Defence Cooperation Agreement in Washington next Monday.

“Very Significant for Finland’s Defense and Security”

Before the deal was announced, officials said the agreement with the United States was intended to allow rapid military access and assistance to Finland during a conflict.

Valtonen told reporters that the agreement will play an important role during the crisis. It will facilitate peacetime operations. “There is no need for us to agree on everything separately.”

According to the government of Finland, Finland has listed 15 facilities and areas in the country under the agreement, covering the entire Nordic nation, from southern naval bases and inland air bases to a vast remote army training area in Lapland in the northern Arctic.

Those areas will include four airfields, a military port and rail access to northern Finland, where the US military will have a railway as well as a storage area that leads to the Russian border.

The US military will have unhindered access to these facilities and areas and will be able to store military equipment and ammunition.

NATO’s new member, allowing the world’s most powerful military strength to access strategic military bases in the Nordic countries as well as store defense materials.

“U.S. troops are allowed a permanent presence and regular exercises in Finland, but there are no plans to establish a permanent U.S. military base in Finland,” officials informed.

“The agreement means the U.S. is committed to defending Finland if the Nordic country is attacked,” Defence Minister Hakkanen told a news conference.

Newcomer at NATO

Incidentally, Russia’s Nordic Neighbour, Finland joined NATO last April as a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (February 2022).

The country shares a 1,340-km border with Russia, with 5.6 million. According to a report of ‘Reuters’ , Finland has been improving railway infrastructure along its Swedish border since July, making it easier for allies to send reinforcements and equipment across the Atlantic to Kemijarvi.

In August 2022, Finland began negotiations with the United States on  this DCA.

The Government of Finland proposed to sign the DCA in Washington, DC with Defence Minister Antti Hakkanen as a witness.

Finland’s neighbor, Sweden, also signed a similar military deal with the US last week. The agreement gives the US military access to 17 areas in the country, including four air bases, one seaport, and five military bases.

Sweden has also been asked to join NATO but has so far abstained due to resistance from existing members Turkey and Hungary.

However, neighboring Sweden is trying to join NATO. Among other NATO members, the United States has signed similar agreements with Norway, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Estonia, while ratification is pending with Denmark.