NATO News

NATO is stepping up deliveries of military equipment to Afghanistan as the Alliance withdraws its forces from the country. So far this year, NATO has donated roughly US$72 million worth of supplies and equipment to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, ranging from medical supplies to high-tech combat simulators, hospital X-ray machines, and specialist equipment to defuse bombs. The latest delivery arrived on Monday (2 August 2021).

We join Allies in strongly condemning the recent fatal attack on the MV Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, and express our condolences to Romania and the United Kingdom for the losses they have suffered.

NATO scrambled Spanish and Italian fighter aircraft on Thursday (29 July 2021) to intercept Russian military aircraft over the Baltic Sea. The NATO fighters, assigned to NATO's Baltic Air Policing mission, identified two Il-22PP Mute electronic warfare aircraft and an Su-24 Fencer fighter aircraft. An IL-76 Candid transport aircraft was also tracked and escorted. The Russian aircraft did not have flight plans nor transmit transponder codes, and thus posed a potential risk to civilian flights.

Ukraine has received ten ventilators from NATO’s Pandemic Response Stockpile to help the country respond to coronavirus infections. The NATO Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre and Hungary coordinated the donation in response to a request by Ukraine for COVID-19 assistance.

NATO officials welcomed Mr. Kyung-Hyup Kim, Chairman of the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, to NATO Headquarters on Thursday (22 July 2021) for talks on common security challenges and NATO’s partnership with Seoul.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg marked the 10th anniversary of the July 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway on Thursday (22 July 2021) saying that “hatred is still present”, but that open societies will prevail.

Over 2,000 forces and 30 ships are taking part in exercise Breeze 2021 in the Black Sea. The Bulgarian-led maritime exercise, which began on 12 July and wraps up today (19 July), involves forces from 14 NATO Allies and partners – Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and the United States.

On 15 July 2021, Allied Joint Force Command Norfolk declared Full Operational Capability and marked the occasion with a ceremony presided over by its Commander, Vice Admiral Andrew Lewis. General Milley, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also attended the ceremony.

For more than a decade, through its Defence Education Enhancement Programme, NATO has supported the development and sustainment of Afghan national defence and security military education system. This programme is articulated through three intertwined pillars: curriculum development, faculty development and institutional assistance.

The Defence Ministers of Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, and Spain signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday (16 July 2021) to modernize the storage and provision of ammunitions. Under the new Multinational Ammunition Warehousing Initiative – or MAWI - participating Allies will create a single set of principles for the storage and management of ammunition stockpiles in various multinational warehouse locations.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Deputy Chairperson of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Bisera Turković, and the Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Sifet Podžić, to NATO headquarters on Wednesday (14 July 2021), to discuss how to further enhance NATO’s relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region.

On 13 July 2021, the Director General of the NATO International Military Staff (IMS), Lieutenant General Hans-Werner Wiermann under the auspices of the Cooperative Security Division hosted the first in-person meeting with NATO Partners at NATO HQ since the start of pandemic. The meeting provided an opportunity to present the outcomes of the NATO Summit and explore ways to enhance existing partnerships.

In a panel discussion at the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) Global Emerging Technology Summit on 13 July 2021, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoaña stressed the importance of international cooperation on Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the most pervasive emerging and disruptive technology, especially when combined with other technologies such as big data, autonomy or biotechnologies.

On 28 June 2021, the Director of the Defence Institution Building School in Georgia, Ms. Tea Nikolashvili, held a ceremony to commemorate five years of partnership with NATO for the professional and institutional development of Georgia’s defence and security establishment.

On Wednesday, 14 July 2021, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will meet with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Bisera Turković, and the Minister of Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Sifet Podžić, at NATO Headquarters.

Between October 2020 and June 2021 and in response to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, NATO set up and successfully completed a series of postgraduate studies on "E-teacher and e-instructor within a new learning environment caused by COVID-19".

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs to NATO Headquarters on Monday (12 July 2021) to discuss the Alliance’s adaptation and Latvia’s offer to host a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Riga in December.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană discussed the outcomes of the NATO Summit and the NATO 2030 agenda, addressing the Alliance’s future challenges and opportunities, including Russia, the rise of China, new technologies, and partnerships, in an online webinar with the International Centre for Development and Democratic Transition on Monday (12 July 2021).

On Tuesday 13 July 2021, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Mircea Geoană, will participate in the Global Emerging Technology Summit.