Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland issued a joint statement

According to a report on the website of the German newspaper Berliner Zeitung on March 15, the heads of government of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland reached an agreement in Oslo on the 15th to deepen cooperation in areas such as defense industry, economy, and Arctic security. Reuters reported that this meeting is part of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s strategy to build a so-called new alliance of middle powers to reduce dependence on the United States.

The report stated that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters, “The old world order is over, and it is unlikely to return.” She pointed out that a new order must be established—an order based on shared values.

Specifically, the six countries plan to expand defense production and strengthen coordination in arms procurement. Carney reportedly stated that uncoordinated spending is neither in the interest of taxpayers nor conducive to public security. He said that while the countries will continue to purchase defense products from the United States, they will also promote procurement cooperation with a wider range of partner countries.

The report also stated that the six heads of government pledged in a joint statement issued on the 15th to hold more regular meetings at all levels. The statement covered multiple issues, including Arctic security, collective defense, and trade. Furthermore, participating countries planned closer cooperation in future technologies such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence, satellite and aerospace technology, as well as in securing key raw materials and reliable supply chains.

The Oslo meeting was part of a broader foreign policy adjustment outlined by Canadian Prime Minister Carney at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January. In his highly anticipated speech, he declared that the rules-based world order had failed and called on other countries to work together to build a new order.

Carney stated in Davos that major powers are increasingly using economic integration as a tool of pressure, and multilateral institutions such as the WTO and the UN have been severely weakened. Therefore, middle powers must unite to avoid becoming victims in the great power game. Carney aptly put it in Davos: “If you’re not sitting at the table, you’re on the menu.”