NATO News

The Polish army will take the lead of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) on Wednesday (1 January 2020), placing thousands of soldiers on standby and ready to deploy within days. Poland takes over from Germany, which provided the core of the VJTF’s land forces in 2019.

Holiday greetings to all NATO servicemen and -women around the world.

The first dialogue on counter-terrorism cooperation between NATO and the African Union was held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels (Belgium) on 18 and 19 December 2019. This initiative followed on a Memorandum of Understanding recently signed by the two organizations. It built upon an ongoing cooperation through the African Union’s Centre for the Study and Research of Terrorism and is part of NATO’s Action Plan to enhance the Alliance’s role in the International Community’s fight against terrorism.

“NATO’s consequence management field exercises are highly recognized internationally and are characterized by their inclusive planning process and wide participation. The contributions and involvement of representatives from Allied and partner nations, International Organisations, Non-Governmental and National Organisations are key to its value and its success,” NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Operations, Mr. Jonathan Parish said today (19 December 2019) in Skopje. “In these exercises, nations come together from across the Alliance, and from around the world, to practise international response to large scale disasters; and next year, from 20 to 25 September, for the first time, they will do so here in this country,” he added.

Six questions to a quantum physicist securing our communications.

Senior officials from NATO and the European Union met at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday (17 December 2019) for discussions on cyber defence.

On Monday 16 December 2019, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach attended the Commemorations of the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium and in Hamm, Luxembourg.

Last week in Geneva (9-12 December 2019), a NATO delegation attended the 33rd International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, in an observer capacity. The Organization formally pledged to continue a substantive dialogue with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to identify areas where training and education provided by NATO on international humanitarian law may be further enhanced.

The ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council met with Istanbul Cooperation Initiative partners Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in Kuwait City on Monday (16 December 2019), marking the fifteenth anniversary of the partnership forum. Oman, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council were also represented at the meeting.

On Friday 13th December, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, hands over the chairmanship of the Imperial War Museum to his deputy, Matthew Westerman.

At the invitation of the Kuwaiti authorities, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) chaired by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will visit the State of Kuwait on 15 and 16 December 2019.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Bulgaria’s contributions to collective security in a meeting with Prime Minister Boyko Borissov at NATO Headquarters on Thursday (12 December 2019). “This year we celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of Bulgaria joining this Alliance; and we are so grateful for your support to different NATO missions and operations,” said Mr. Stoltenberg. The Secretary General welcomed Bulgaria’s troop deployments in Afghanistan and Kosovo, as well as the country’s strong support for Black Sea security, and for enhancing peace and stability in the Western Balkans.

Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, and Slovenia jointly opened the Multinational Special Aviation Programme at a ceremony in Zadar, Croatia on Wednesday (11 December 2019). The training centre is dedicated to training air crews responsible for transporting Special Operations Forces.

The 2019 Executive Senior Leaders’ Seminar (ESLS) took place at SHAPE and at NATO Headquarters from 24 to 29 November. Fourteen executive-level officials and practitioners representing Afghanistan’s defence sector ministries participated. This year, for the first time, three women delegates took part and gender integration in defence and society was one of the subjects on the agenda.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the new EU High Representative Josep Borrell at the headquarters of the European External Action Service in Brussels on Monday (9 December 2019). The meeting took place during Mr. Borrell’s first week in office. “This underlines the importance of NATO-EU cooperation,” said the Secretary General.

The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will meet the Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Mr. Boyko Borissov, on Thursday, 12 December 2019 at NATO Headquarters.

More than 230 representatives from Allied nations, NATO staffs and the defence industry gathered at NATO headquarters for a three day symposium (4-5 December 2019) to address the latest trends in unmanned underwater warfare. Organised by NATO’s Maritime Unmanned Systems Initiative – or MUSI – experts focused on operational challenges in the maritime domain and the latest technological developments in unmanned underwater systems. Industry partners also displayed many of their latest innovative systems and technology.

On Monday 9 December 2019, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will have a meeting with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security of the European Union, Mr. Josep Borrell at the European Commission.

The NATO leaders’ meeting marking the 70th anniversary of the Alliance wrapped up in London on Wednesday (4 December 2019). After the working session, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: “Our meeting has once again demonstrated that NATO remains the only place where Europe and North America discuss, decide and act every day together on strategic issues that concern our shared security”.

The NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Mircea Geoană, will visit Bratislava on Thursday, 5 December 2019 to attend the Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).