At the Total Defence Forum in Warsaw, Marcin Kierwiński, Polish Minister of Interior and Administration, and Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Minister of Civil Defence of the Kingdom of Sweden, confirmed that the security of the Baltic Sea region is their shared priority. Today’s agreement is a direct continuation of the joint activities carried out in 2024–2025.

Today’s letter of intent marks the start of concrete joint operational initiatives. As close allies and neighbours, we are building a united front for a safer Baltic region. Polish–Swedish cooperation is strategic, based not only on the exchange of information within civil protection systems, but also on the provision of mutual rescue and humanitarian assistance in the event of a natural disaster or other crisis. In creating our innovative Civil Protection and Civil Defence Programme, we drew on Swedish solutions

- said Marcin Kierwiński, Head of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, during the document signing ceremony.

Key provisions of the letter of intent

The document, signed on 11 March 2026, provides for the intensification of the exchange of experience at both the strategic and operational levels. The collaboration will focus on four key areas. 

The first of these areas is security, arising from the increasingly widespread use of drones. This includes both the use of civilian drones for rescue operations and the development of early-warning systems, as well as protection against threats posed by potential attacks involving unmanned aerial vehicles used in hybrid operations.

The second area of cooperation concerns strategic reserves, which in Poland are maintained in a state of high readiness by the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves. The cooperation focuses primarily on the exchange of best practices regarding the management of large stockpiles and the security of supply in crisis situations.

The Polish-Swedish letter of intent also identifies social resilience as one of the key areas. Building preparedness across the entire society and strengthening cooperation between the public and private sectors is currently one of the key initiatives being implemented in Poland.

The fourth key area of common security is the development of cooperation between the agencies responsible for coastal security. The Baltic Sea links Poland and Sweden, and imposes a shared responsibility for its security.

Poland is investing in security

In his speech at the Forum, Minister Marcin Kierwiński emphasised that the cornerstone of modern civil protection and civil defence in Poland is the act that came into force on 1 January 2025. This act not only defines the tasks to be carried out in times of peace and war, but also allocated a record amount of funding for this purpose. In 2025-2026, Poland is spending nearly 34 billion zlotys on civil protection and civil defence, in line with the objectives of the Civil Protection Programme for 2025–2026.

Solidarity in action: From fires to civil protection

Polish-Swedish relations in the field of emergency services have a long history. During discussions at the Total Defence Forum, mention was made, amongst other things, of the support provided by Polish firefighters in extinguishing the Swedish forest fires in 2018 and of Sweden’s assistance with water decontamination during the floods in Poland in September 2024.

The Polish ‘Safety Guide’ has become a special symbol of this cooperation. In January this year, it was distributed to nearly 17 million households in Poland, helping to prepare citizens for emergency situations. This is a solution that has been in use in Sweden for years.