Sweden formally became the 32nd member of NATO on Thursday, nearly two years after submitting its initial application to the military alliance.

Earlier in the day, the Swedish government announced an extraordinary meeting to vote on NATO membership after receiving approval from all existing members.

Later on Thursday, NATO officially confirmed the news, with Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg stating that Sweden was now “taking its rightful place at our table.”

“Sweden’s accession makes NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and the whole Alliance more secure. I look forward to raising their flag at NATO HQ on Monday,” he added.

This week, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson traveled to Washington, D.C., to submit the final documents for Sweden’s NATO membership.

The country initially applied to join NATO in May 2022, a shift from its longstanding policy of military nonalignment dating back to the Napoleonic wars, CNBC reported.

Finland joined NATO in April of the previous year, also in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Both Helsinki and Stockholm concluded that, following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, their nations were no longer secure on their own and sought alliance membership a few months later.

The accession process for Sweden faced delays from NATO members Hungary and Turkey, with both nations casting their votes in favor of Sweden’s membership this year.

Approval from all existing members is a prerequisite for joining the alliance, which operates on the key principle that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

Written by B.C. Begley