MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Russia and Sweden agreed on Wednesday to improve cooperation in the space industry during Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to Stockholm.

RIA Novosti reported that the two countries signed a declaration, which includes their intention to launch Swedish satellites using Russian carrier rockets. Both sides also agreed to jointly use ground facilities to gather information for operating their own orbital objects and those of third countries.

Sweden and Russia will also cooperate within a Russian space research project, which is estimated at 30 billion rubles ($1.23 billion), to monitor the Earth's polar regions. The project, which is scheduled to begin operating in 2015, will use a new satellite cluster to provide environmental monitoring data for accurate weather forecasts and to aid national socio-economic development.

Putin also invited Sweden to increase its cooperation with Russia on its Glonass satellite navigation system, which is similar to the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS). Meanwhile, Sweden will share its experience in the creation of an emergency call service since Russia is currently introducing its own system.

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