Afghanistan withdrawal, military spending, Russia and China likely to top agenda
NATO Foreign and Defence ministers met via separate secure teleconferences on 1 June 2021. They focused on the NATO 2030 initiative, which is at the heart of the upcoming Summit of NATO leaders on 14 June in Brussels. They also discussed topical issues, including the way forward for NATO’s engagement in Afghanistan, and developments in Belarus and Ukraine.
“This is a pivotal moment for our alliance, and our collective security,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a virtual press conference on 31 May. “In a more competitive and unpredictable world, we need transatlantic unity; Europe and North America standing strong together in NATO; so the goal of our NATO 2030 initiative is to prepare our alliance for the future. Over the past months, allies have been consulting closely and constructively; we still have some work to do, but we all agree that we must take ambitious and forward-looking decisions to show transatlantic unity not just in words, but in deeds”. The June Summit is also expected to initiate work on NATO’s next Strategic Concept.
Read more in the attached pdf.
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| briefing_84_foreign_and_defence_ministers_meetings.pdf | 270.98 KB |