Helsingborg, Sweden 19.05.2026 On May 21 and 22, Sweden will host the NATO Foreign Ministers’ meeting.The meeting takes place in Helsingborg and is the first at ministerial level in Sweden since joining the alliance.
Ulf Kristersson is traveling to Helsingborg to receive Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Rutte will, among other meetings, have dinner on the coast guard ship Poseidon.
“Then we can show what we use the Coast Guard’s capabilities for when it comes to keeping the Russian shadow fleet in check, within the law,” says Kristersson.
Maria Malmer Stenergard will also welcome Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha.
However she cannot say if the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a major NATO country, will come to Helsingborg in person, or he will delegate the mission to another diplomat.
“Each country will be able to account for its presence. But I can say that I have high hopes for good support at the foreign minister level,” says Malmer Stenergard.
The NATO summit begins in Sweden on Thursday May 20, but it is still unclear whether the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will attend. The participation of the top U.S. diplomat has not not been confirmed yet.
The city of Helsingborg prepares to receive distingused guests with top security measures.
According to US expert Andreas Utterström, there are two reasons why Rubio’s participation is still shrouded in mystery. One is the Secretary of State’s hectic schedule and many commitments. The other is that US President Donald Trump wants people to talk about the administration.
– Donald Trump does things his way. I think he loves this kind of ruling techniques and talk around it.
For the first time, a NATO meeting of foreign ministers is being held in Sweden, and it has been an investment of 85 million kronor, and they are high expectaions of the returns in upgrading the image of the country, and especially it significance for the Alliance.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard held a press conference on May 18 to provide information about the upcoming event, which will take place in Helsingborg on Thursday and Friday.
“This is the first major NATO summit we have in Sweden,” says Ulf Kristersson.
The meeting is seen as an important part of preparations for the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, in July, when heads of state and government will meet.
According to Kristersson, a focus is on “burden shifting”, which aims to transfer a large part of the military and economic responsibility from the U.S. to Europe and Canada.
