For the first time, the commanders of Finnish and Swedish defense forces have been invited to a NATO military committee conference, which brings together the commanders of all the alliance's armed forces, the Estonian Defense Forces headquarters told Interfax https://www.interfax.ru/ on Thursday.

The conference will be held in Tallinn from September 16-18 and will be hosted by Estonia's Defence Forces Commander, Lieutenant General Martin Herem. The conference will be chaired by NATO Military Committee Chairman Admiral Rob Bauer.

They will discuss strategic goals of the alliance and implementation of decisions of NATO's Madrid summit on deterrence and defense. They will also discuss current NATO operations, missions and activities, including the NATO missions in Iraq (NMI) and Kosovo (KFOR).

The Military Committee meets to discuss NATO operations, missions and activities and to provide consensus military recommendations to the North Atlantic Council on how NATO can better address global security challenges.

Finland and Sweden prepare to join NATO.