A group of six European countries that border the North Sea has signed an agreement to protect vital infrastructure beneath the northern portion of the Atlantic Ocean.

According to the Associated Press, the pact was signed by Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and Denmark, in the face of concerns over increased risks to underwater energy infrastructure in the region. 

The North Sea is home to electricity cables, gas pipelines and telecommunications connections for much of Europe. The hope with this new agreement announced on April 9 is to "strengthen cooperation" between the participating nations and to work on ways to shield the crucial infrastructure from any possible attacks in the future. 

Moving forward, the Northern European countries will share resources and knowledge regarding the current security measures in place, with a focus on "resilience and prevention." It will complement ongoing work from NATO to secure region's underwater infrastructure. 

This also comes two years after explosions that damaged two underwater Nord Stream gas pipelines between Europe and Russia. That incident was believed to have been an act of sabotage, but remains unsolved without any potential culprits despite multiple investigations.