Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby provided the following readout:
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke by phone today with his Norwegian counterpart, Minister of Defence Frank Bakke-Jensen, to reaffirm the strategic defense relationship between the United States and Norway.
Secretary Austin thanked Minister Bakke-Jensen for hosting rotational U.S. Marines for cold weather training and underscored the importance of continued training, operations, and cooperation in the High North. Notably, the U.S. recently announced that it would deploy a B-1 Lancer Bomber squadron for Bomber Task Force missions out of Ørland Air Base to improve interoperability with our allies and partners in the High North and across Europe.
Minister Bakke-Jensen congratulated Secretary Austin on his new position and expressed appreciation for our long-standing military cooperation and shared values.
Secretary Austin and Minister Bakke-Jensen agreed to meeting in person at the earliest opportunity but noted they looked forward to speaking at the upcoming NATO Defense Ministerial.