NATO News

On 22 November 2023, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr Mircea Geoană, will participate via VTC in a virtual ministerial meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

On Tuesday (21 November 2023), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had discussions in Belgrade with President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia. Mr Stoltenberg and President Vučić addressed the latest security developments in the Western Balkans, NATO’s role in the region, and strengthening Serbia’s partnership with the Alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with Dr Vjosa Osmani of Kosovo in Pristina on Monday (20 November 2023) to discuss the security situation in Kosovo and the wider region.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg started his four-day visit to the Western Balkans this week (19 - 22 November 2023) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, stating that “NATO has been committed to Bosnia-Herzegovina for many years. Your security matters for the Western Balkans region and it matters for Europe”.

From 17 to 19 November 2023, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, and the Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Ambassador Boris Ruge, attended the IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain. NATO’s key message at this conference was that it wants to find ways to deepen Partnerships in its Southern neighbourhood. Admiral Bauer expressed this during a panel discussion on “Strategies and Capabilities”. In addition, the NATO delegation had a number of bilateral meetings with representatives of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, France and Germany.

From 19 to 22 November 2023, the NATO Secretary General, Mr Jens Stoltenberg, will visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia.

On 16th November 2023, the NATO Military Committee held the first edition of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Military Representatives format. While the NATO Military Representatives regularly engage with their Ukrainian counterparts, the particularity of this new format lies in that Ukraine sits amongst Allies.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs to NATO Headquarters on Thursday (16 November 2023) to discuss continued support for Ukraine and the ongoing implementation of decisions taken at the Vilnius Summit.

Around 200 Ukrainian medics have completed NATO training that will help Ukraine’s healthcare system to cope with the devastating impact of Russia’s war. The activity was organised jointly by Romania and NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC), and funded by six Allies. The participants are first responders from different Ukrainian agencies, the National Guard, the National Police, the State Emergency Service, the State Border Guard Service, as well as medical units of the Ministry of the Interior. They are involved in rescue operations and provide critical medical services to civilians during Russian missile and artillery strikes.

NATO Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges David van Weel concluded a successful three-day visit to Japan on 15 November 2023. Deepening NATO-Japan cooperation on cyber defence, cutting edge technologies and defence against hybrid threats was at the core of all discussions with representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Security Secretariat, the Ministry of Defence, including the Chief of Staff, the Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, as well as with Japan’s scientific community and academia.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was awarded the CIOR 75th Anniversary Medal in a ceremony at the NATO Headquarters on Tuesday (14 November 2023).

Attending a meeting with the EU College of Commissioners in Brussels on Wednesday (15 November 2023), Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for being a driving force behind the NATO-EU partnership. He said that both organisations have a lot in common, sharing the same values and facing the same challenges. Mr. Stoltenberg highlighted that NATO and the EU have done more together this year, including working towards lasting stability in the Western Balkans, tackling disinformation and advancing their strategic partnership in areas like military mobility, cyber and space. The Secretary General said that both organisations sent a strong message to President Putin that we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.

NATO has selected its next generation command and control aircraft as the Alliance’s existing Airborne Warning and Control (AWACS) fleet nears retirement. Production of the six new Boeing’s E-7A Wedgetail aircraft is set to begin in the coming years, with the first aircraft expected to be ready for operational duty by 2031. A consortium of Allies gave their approval to the project, one of NATO’s biggest-ever capability purchases, this month.

On Thursday 16 November 2023, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will receive the President of Latvia, Mr Edgars Rinkēvičs, at NATO Headquarters.

On Wednesday, 15th November 2023, the NATO Secretary General, Mr Jens Stoltenberg, will meet with the College of the European Union Commissioners. The meeting will take place during a visit to the European Commission at the Berlaymont building, in Brussels.

In collaboration with the Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre in Bucharest, NATO held the first edition of the NATO Resilience Course for Civil Experts, from 6 to 10 November 2023. The course involved 25 subject-matter experts who provide expertise across NATO's seven Baseline Requirements for national resilience, covering civil protection, communications, transportation, mass movement, health, energy, food and water supply.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated in a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union with EU Defence Ministers in Brussels on Tuesday (14 November 2023) to discuss the protection of critical undersea infrastructure and the importance of continued support to Ukraine.

On Tuesday, 14th November 2023, the NATO Secretary General, Mr Jens Stoltenberg, will participate in a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union (EU) with Defence Ministers. The meeting will take place at the Europa building of the Council of the EU, in Brussels.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg received the prestigious Henry A. Kissinger Prize in a ceremony on Friday evening (10 November 2023) at the American Academy in Berlin for his contributions to transatlantic relations. The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and Speaker Emerita of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, delivered the laudatory remarks.

NATO, together with the German Federal Foreign Office, organised the sixth Transatlantic Policy Planners’ Conference in Berlin, Germany on Thursday and Friday (9-10 November 2023). This flagship event brought together directors of policy planning from across the Alliance, as well as from selected partner countries and the European External Action Service.