(Bloomberg) -- Sweden’s government took the decision to accede to the North Atlantic Treaty as part of the final set of formal steps required for it to join NATO.

The decision was taken Thursday afternoon, Ebba Busch, deputy prime minister, told reporters in Stockholm.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg extended an invitation, which the government accepted, after all North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states signed off on its accession protocol, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said in a post on X.

“Starting today, our country has become safer,” Busch said at a news conference in Stockholm. “Now we are many countries working together to secure a future of peace and freedom.”

Kristersson is set to address the nation at 7 p.m. after meeting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Department of State in Washington at 11:15 a.m. local time.

Read More: Swedish Leader Heads to Washington With NATO Entry Imminent

--With assistance from Jonas Ekblom.

(Updates with government decision from first paragraph)

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