NATO News

On the 28th of October 2021, the NATO International Military Staff’s Cooperative Security Division hosted a delegation of Colombian military officials for a day of for inter-staff talks at the NATO Headquarters. Colombia has been a NATO Partner since 2017 and this is the first military-to-military meeting held in Brussels.

Last week, the new NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, Mr. Javier Colomina, travelled to the South Caucasus, visiting Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia to introduce himself in his new capacity. He discussed regional security issues with high-level civilian and military officials, took stock of NATO’s relations with these important partners and shared views on future political dialogue and cooperation, especially in the context of the ongoing preparations for the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid.

The Conference of National Armaments Directors (CNAD) met on Tuesday and Wednesday (26-27 October 2021) for its Autumn Plenary with representatives from Allied and Interoperability Platform (IP) partners, as part of its regular cycle of meetings.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Finland and Sweden’s close partnership with NATO while visiting the Berga Naval Base with the North Atlantic Council, on Wednesday (27 October 2021). During the visit, they had the opportunity to witness the joint Swedish/Finnish Naval Exercise, SWENEX-21.

On Thursday 28 October 2021, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro, Mr. Đorđe Radulović, at NATO Headquarters.

On Wednesday, 03 November 2021, the NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg will attend the 73rd Nordic Council in Copenhagen, Denmark.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed the value of the Alliance’s partnership with Sweden during a visit to Stockholm, with ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council, on Tuesday (26 October 2021).

On 28-29 October 2021, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Mircea Geoană, will travel to the Swiss Confederation.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited Finland with ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council on Monday (25 October 2021), underlining the close partnership between NATO and Finland. Addressing media after his meeting with President Sauli Niinistö, Mr Stoltenberg said that NATO and Finland cooperate closely on security in the Baltic Sea region and in the High North. “Together, we make the Euro-Atlantic region more secure and more stable, including through NATO's enhanced forward presence in the Baltic region, our air policing mission, and of course, Finland’s commitment to its national defence”, he said.

In August 2021, a NATO Building Integrity (BI) team, in cooperation with NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) and Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFCN), concluded the BI train-the-trainers programme for the Ministerial Training and Development Centre (MTDC) of the Ministry of Defence of Iraq.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki on Monday (25 October 2021) at the start of a three-day visit to Finland and Sweden.

On Thursday (21 October 2021), NATO Defence Ministers endorsed NATO’s 2021-2025 Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).

Today (22 October 2021), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg joined an in-person meeting of Defence Ministers from framework nations of the Global Coalition against ISIS, chaired by the United States, in Brussels.

On Friday, 22 October 2021, the NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Mircea Geoană, will participate in the 10th Annual Meridian Summit: Prioritizing People and Planet, organized by Meridian International. Mr. Geoană will take part in an online conversation titled “Military Efforts to Combat Climate Change”.

On Thursday (21 October 2021), NATO Defence Ministers agreed to NATO’s first-ever strategy for Artificial Intelligence (AI).

On Friday (22 October 2021) Allies launched the NATO Innovation Fund to invest in cutting-edge technologies. The fund is expected to invest 1 billion euros with innovators across the Alliance working on emerging and disruptive technologies.

On Friday (22 October 2021), at a signing ceremony hosted by NATO’s Secretary General, Defence Ministers from 17 Allied countries* agreed to take the lead on the development of NATO’s first Innovation Fund.

Defence Ministers from 15 NATO Allies reaffirmed their commitment to multinationally develop, acquire and deliver Ground Based Air Defence capabilities, which will protect Allied personnel, equipment and facilities from air based threats. This was done in the margins of the NATO Defence Ministers Meeting on 21 October 2021.

The Ministers of Defence from 11 NATO Allies launched three multinational High Visibility Projects to provide CBRN protection equipment, develop and procure CBRN detection and identification systems, as well as potentially establish a network of CBRN defence facilities. The letters of intent launching these initiatives were signed in the margins of the NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting on 21 October 2021.

The International Military Staff (IMS) Gender Advisor team collaborated with NATO’s Crisis Management and Disaster Response Centre of Excellence (CMDR COE) to deliver Gender Focal Point (GFP) training 4-7 Oct 21 in order to prepare GFPs for their role in the Divisions and independent offices across IMS. 21 participants took part, including one GFP for each IMS division and independent office.