Sweden has become the 32nd member of NATO after completing official procedures. Sweden applied to join the NATO military alliance in February 2022 after the war between Russia and Ukraine began.

What is NATO?

1. NATO is an international military alliance founded on the North Atlantic Treaty, which was ratified in 1949.
2. The Treaty was also called the Washington Treaty.

Objectives of NATO

1. NATO promotes democratic values and allows its members to consult and collaborate on defence and security problems.
2. NATO is committed to peaceful conflict resolution and crisis management.
3. NATO has only once activated Article 5, on September 12, 2001, in response to the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre in the United States.
   1. Article 5 states that if a NATO Ally is the victim of an armed attack, each member will regard the act of violence as an armed attack on all members.

Headquarters:

1. Headquarter of NATO: Brussels, Belgium.
2. Headquarters of Allied Command Operations: Mons, Belgium.

Membership of NATO: -

1. The original members of NATO were Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

1. 3. France withdrew from NATO's combined military command in 1966 but remained a member; it rejoined the military command in 2009.
   4. Finland joined NATO in 2023, while Sweden recently joined NATO in 2024. There are now 32 member states.

Features of NATO

1. NATO has a unified military command organisation.
2. NATO's protection does not cover members' civil conflicts or domestic coups.
3. NATO is funded by its members. The United States supplies nearly three-quarters of NATO's budget.

 Alliances of NATO

Alliance	Description
Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC)	It is a multilateral forum of 50 Allies and partner countries. It facilitates conversation and consultation on political and security matters.
Mediterranean Dialogue	It is a collaboration forum dedicated to promoting security and stability in NATO's Mediterranean and North African neighborhoods.
Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI)	It is a collaboration forum dedicated to promoting long-term global and regional security.

 

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