Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide reaffirmed the close defense relationship between the United States and Norway during a meeting on the margins of the Munich Security Conference in Germany today, Navy Cmdr. Sarah Higgins, a spokesperson for Mattis, said in a statement.
Mattis attended the conference on the current leg of an overseas trip in which he also participated in meetings in Brussels with NATO defense ministers and defense leaders from partner nations in the fight to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.
Extensive Cooperation
The two defense leaders also discussed how extensive military-to-military cooperation as NATO allies has resulted in effective combined operations on the battlefield, Higgins said.
“The secretary shared his long-time respect for Norway's highly trained armed forces and thanked the minister for Norway's commitment to international security, including significant contributions to Afghanistan, the counter-ISIS campaign, and Baltic Air Policing mission,” she added.
Mattis thanked Søreide for Norway's leadership on security in the Nordic-Baltic region, Higgins said, and both pledged to work closely in the coming months.