Brussels/Washington, 7 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Sweden has joined the NATO military alliance as its 32nd member on Thursday, the United States government announced.

A formal notice issued by the US State Department said that on Thursday, the "Protocol to the North Atlantic Treaty on the Accession of the Kingdom of Sweden" had entered into force.

Swedish accession means all NATO allies - including the United States - are committed to defending the country if it is attacked, and vice-versa. Sweden also brings with it a sizeable defence industry that already supplies several NATO countries.

Sweden and Finland both asked to join NATO in May 2022, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. Finland became a member of the alliance in April 2023.

Photo: MIA Archive