Regional cooperation

The countries of the Baltic Sea region share a common history, common values and a common security threat. Latvia's regional cooperation is with Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

Russia's war against Ukraine has changed the security situation in the region. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine motivated Finland and Sweden to join NATO, and both are full NATO members in 2024. This provides an opportunity to deepen Nordic-Baltic military cooperation in both the short and long term.

Sweden has deployed a battalion in Latvia from 2025 onwards after NATO accession, linking them to the Canadian-led brigade in Latvia.

Cooperation formats

There are several cooperation formats where regular meetings take place between Ministers of Defence, Force Commanders and experts. The most important of these are:

• Baltic format;
• The Baltic-Polish format;
• Nordic-Baltic formats, primarily the Nordic-Baltic Eight (NB8);
• Northern Group.

Parliamentary cooperation between the NB8 countries started as early as 1989, when contacts were established between the Baltic Assembly and the Nordic Council.