Washington. Canada has formally applied to join the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).
This is being considered an important step towards increasing defense and military cooperation between Canada and European allies including Britain.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said Wednesday that Carney announced the application to join the JEF and welcomed Britain’s support for Canada’s participation in the initiative, according to Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu.
The announcement came after Carney and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham met in Britain. The two leaders discussed further strengthening the long-standing defense relationship between Canada and the United Kingdom.
The JEF currently includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK. This alliance mainly focuses on strengthening security and military cooperation in Northern Europe and surrounding regions.
During the meeting, Carney and Burnham also discussed the possibility of increasing defense-industrial cooperation through the Global Combat Air Program (GCAP).
Canada participated in this program as an observer in July. The British Prime Minister’s Office also welcomed Canada becoming the first observer country in the GCAP.
Opportunities and challenges related to Artificial Intelligence (AI) were also discussed between the two leaders. Both sides recognized that cooperation between governments and the technology sector is necessary to address common concerns and strengthen online security.
Canada’s application to join the JEF comes at a time when Ottawa is taking steps to further strengthen its defense and security cooperation with Britain and European countries.