NATO News

Kabul - Senior Afghan and NATO representatives attended a ceremony on Sunday 11th October marking the upcoming handover to the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces (ANDSF) of a key officer-training facility, another crucial milestone in their development towards full self-sufficiency and long-term institutional viability.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed President Armen Sarkissian of Armenia at NATO Headquarters on Tuesday 21 October 2020. Mr. Stoltenberg said that Armenia is a valued partner for NATO and thanked President Sarkissian for the contributions that Armenia has made to NATO missions and operations over the years, including in Afghanistan.

NATO Defence Ministers will meet via secure video conference on Thursday and Friday (22-23 October 2020) to discuss issues affecting Alliance security. They include progress on fairer burden-sharing, strengthening deterrence and defence, boosting the resilience of our societies, and NATO’s missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On Wednesday (21 October 2020), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg set out the issues that Allied Defence Ministers will address during their virtual meeting on 22 and 23 October. Ministers will discuss progress on fairer burden-sharing, strengthening our deterrence and defence in all domains, boosting the resilience of our societies; and NATO’s missions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

NATO collects defence expenditure data from Allies on a regular basis and presents aggregates and subsets of this information. Each Ally’s Ministry of Defence reports current and estimated future defence expenditure according to an agreed definition of defence expenditure.

The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, will meet the President of the Republic of Armenia, Mr. Armen Sarkissian, on Wednesday, 21 October 2020 at NATO Headquarters.

On Monday 09 November 2020, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will host the NATO 2030 Youth Summit, to ensure that NATO incorporates young people’s views of security and peace in its reflection on the future of NATO.

The Albanian Ministry of Defence received 60 ventilators from the NATO stockpile in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday, 17 October. The donation was coordinated by NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC). Later this week the ventilators will be handed over to the Albanian Ministry of Health for distribution to hospitals.

The NATO Committee on Gender Perspectives (NCGP) hosted its annual conference on 13-14 October 2020. The theme of the conference was “Deepening Gender Mainstreaming: Transformation Through Professionalisation” and the event brought together 110 participants, including representatives from NATO Member and Partner Nations, academics, researchers, and international organisations from around the world, virtually and physically. At the conference, participants discussed the current state of affairs and exchanged best practices to continue integrating gender perspectives and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda at NATO.

Today (19 October 2020), NATO Allies and partners met at the plenary meeting of the Afghan National Army Trust Fund Board. They reviewed the implementation of their financial contributions in support to the Afghan security forces, discussed contributions for 2021 and reiterated their commitment to provide financial support to the Afghan security forces through 2024.

On Wednesday 21 October 2020, at 11:00, the NATO Secretary General will brief the press ahead of the meetings of the NATO Ministers of Defence, taking place via tele-conference on 22-23 October 2020.

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Speaking at the 67th Annual Anciens’ Conference and Seminar organised by the NATO Defense College (NDC) in Rome on Friday (16 October 2020), NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană said that education and training are key to adapting the Alliance to evolving circumstances. Mr Geoană thanked the College for its lasting contribution to NATO and said that within the Alliance the College enjoys a stellar reputation. “The education and training that the College has provided, has been key to the adaptation of our Alliance to all possible and evolving circumstances,” he said.

Speaking at the opening of the Bucharest Model NATO on Friday (16 October 2020), NATO’s Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană called on younger generations to take part in keeping NATO strong. "We need each other to shape the strategic landscape, or others will shape it for us," he said, "we also need each other to ensure that we keep our technological edge in an increasingly competitive space".

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attended NATO’s annual nuclear exercise at Volkel airbase in the Netherlands on 16 October 2020 alongside Dutch Defence Minister Ank Bijleveld as well as NATO’s top military commander, General Tod Wolters.

The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach visited Switzerland on 13 and14 October 2020. During the visit, he met with the Chief of the Swiss Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Thomas Süssli, toured the Spiez laboratory, the Swiss Federal Institute for NBC-Protection, and the Air Force Operations Centre in Dübendorf. Air Chief Marshal Peach also met with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, H.E. Ambassador Peter Maurer.

Speaking at an online dialogue on the future of Women, Peace and Security at NATO on Thursday (15 October 2020), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed that further advancing gender equality was a priority for NATO in the 2030 horizon: “You have my personal commitment to provide the leadership and support needed”, he said. “It is about making our strong Alliance even stronger”.

On Thursday, 15 October 2020, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Mr. François-Philippe Champagne, at NATO Headquarters.

On Thursday, 15 October 2020, NATO will host a Digital Dialogue on the Future of Women, Peace and Security, to mark the 20th anniversary of UNSCR 1325.

Speaking at a Friends of Europe event today (13 October 2020), NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană emphasised that the bond between Europe and North America is still essential. “I do believe there is no substitute to the transatlantic bond,” he said.