Finnish officers could in the future help to train Swedish army conscripts, if a suggestion from the defence spokesperson of Sweden's Social Democratic Party comes to fruition.
The Swedish government has announced plans to increase the number of military conscripts from 8,000 to 12,000 per year by 2032. However, the target has been postponed by two years, as the Swedish Armed Forces consider it unrealistic within the original timeframe.
Sweden's opposition Social Democrats argue the figure is not ambitious enough and have proposed training as many as 20,000 conscripts annually, according to newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
To support the proposal, the party has suggested revising the academic component of officer training to accelerate the deployment of instructors. It has also proposed turning to Finland for support.
"Swedish-speaking officers from Finland could help us train our troops. I believe it is also in Finland's interest that Sweden can train more conscripts in the short term," said former defence minister and Social Democrat defence spokesperson Peter Hultqvist.
The party has also advocated increasing the frequency of refresher exercises and expanding the number of operational brigades.
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