Ministers Rantanen and Bohlin discuss civil preparedness and civil defence shelters

Minister of the Interior Mari Rantanen and Swedish Minister for Civil Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin met in Espoo on 7 November. The Ministers had a general discussion on the importance of civil preparedness and civil defence shelters. Minister Bohlin recognised the long-term work carried out in Finland on civil defence shelters.

“We can support Sweden by sharing our expertise in civil defence shelters and by providing information on how the shelters are visible in people's daily lives. In Finland, civil defence shelters are actively used by sports clubs, for example. When civil defence shelters are used in normal conditions, people learn about their use and shelters remain in good condition,” says Minister Rantanen.

Sweden is currently looking into developing their system of civil defence shelters. Minister Rantanen invited Minister Bohlin to visit Finland's civil defence shelters.

Joint exercises between Finnish and Swedish authorities are now increasingly important

In addition to civil preparedness, the Ministers also discussed the authorities' joint exercises and recent threats to critical infrastructure.

“Russia's invasion of Ukraine has shown that we need civil preparedness in addition to military capabilities. Sweden is an important partner for Finland in civil preparedness. Cooperation between our countries, including joint exercises by the authorities, is even more important now,” Minister Rantanen says.

“The recent incidents involving critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea are a concrete example of cross-border challenges, but they also show how important and effective cooperation is in maintaining regional security,” Rantanen says.

Inquiries:
Wivi-Ann Wagello-Sjölund, Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 488 640, firstname.lastname@gov.fi