Canada and Nordic-Baltic countries establish regular ministerial format

Canada and the eight Nordic-Baltic countries have held their first joint ministerial meeting and agreed to continue convening in the new format.

Foreign ministers from Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden met in New York on September 22. Their joint statement identified defence-industry cooperation, maritime security, critical-infrastructure protection and economic security as areas for deeper work.

The ministers also reaffirmed support for Ukraine and described the Baltic Sea, North Atlantic and Arctic as interconnected security areas. The statement did not announce a treaty, budget or operational deployment.

Source: Global Affairs Canada joint statement, September 22, 2026.

Illustrative stock photo: Antoine Schibler via Unsplash, under the Unsplash License. Resized; not a photograph of the ministerial meeting.