Category: Europe

Ambassador Ruge will participate in the Riga Conference, speaking on a panel entitled: “NATO’s 360-Degree Strategy and Strategic Partnerships”.

He will also meet with Latvian senior officials, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Baiba Braže, and the Minister of Defence, Mr Andris Sprūds.

Media advisory

9:30 (CEST)        Participation by the Acting Deputy Secretary General in the Riga Conference

Media coverage

The Acting Deputy Secretary General’s remarks will be streamed live on the Riga Conference’s YouTube channel.

A transcript of the Acting Deputy Secretary General’s remarks, as well as photographs, will be on the NATO website.

For more information:
For general queries contact the NATO Press Office
For more information on the Riga Conference, please check the event’s website.

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“Morocco is an important country in North Africa and the Middle East and a valuable interlocutor for NATO on security issues, particularly in the field of counter-terrorism,” the Special Representative said. Noting that Morocco is the first among the partners within NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue to conclude an Individually Tailored Partnership Programme of practical cooperation with the Alliance, Mr. Colomina highlighted the importance of the cooperation. “Morocco has always been an important contributor to peace and international security, particularly through its contributions to various missions and operations carried out by NATO,” he explained.

“Our partnership is based on shared values and challenges,” he added, “and given the challenges that the region is facing – in particular, instability in the Sahel but also in the Middle East –  we need to cooperate even more closely and with more determination in support of international peace and mutual security.”

Allies need “to move further and faster to meet the growing threats we face”, he explained, adding that ”this requires more forces, capabilities and investment to meet the ambitious targets set by our defence plans.” Mr Rutte listed expanded defence industrial capacity, more robust supply chains and new technologies as critical to ensuring the Alliance remains resilient across all domains. He said he expected Ministers to greenlight a new NATO initiative to improve standardisation, explaining that “better implementation of standards can help reduce the cost of defence procurement, so this is essential work for NATO.”
 
The Secretary General reaffirmed that NATO stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine, both now and into the future. NATO Defence Ministers will meet with their Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov in the NATO-Ukraine Council on Thursday evening to discuss the battlefield situation and Ukraine’s most urgent needs. Mr Rutte indicated that work is well on track both to set up the new NATO command in Wiesbaden to coordinate security assistance and training for Ukraine, and to deliver on the pledge of 40 billion euros in military aid for Ukraine. He announced that “NATO Allies provided 20.9 billion euros in military assistance to Ukraine during the first half of 2024 and Allies are on track to meet their commitments for the rest of the year”, adding that “the message is clear: NATO is delivering for Ukraine, and we will continue to do so.”
 
The Defence Ministers’ meeting will also be an opportunity to exchange views on the current global security situation with NATO’s close partners in the Indo-Pacific and with the European Union. For the first time, Defence Ministers from Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea are joining a NATO Defence Ministers’ meeting. “In this more interconnected world, it is vital that we tackle our shared security challenges together” the Secretary General concluded.

The information day was also an opportunity to mark Romania’s twentieth anniversary in NATO and highlight how Romania’s scientific community has contributed to NATO over the years. Dignitaries and researchers alike gathered to mark past and current successes of cooperation through the Science for Peace and Security Programme.

Thanks to one project, medical specialists have been able to use telemedicine to remotely assist during major disasters, and another SPS project helped build operational capabilities for civil protection in Mauritania. One of the current SPS activities involving Romania helps strengthen the Republic of Moldova’s capacity to respond to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) incidents.

The SPS information day was co-organized with the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization and the Military Technical Academy of the Ministry of Defence of Romania. 

Since joining NATO in March this year, “Sweden’s membership has made NATO stronger, Sweden safer, and all of us more secure,” said the Secretary General. He commended the Swedish government for its recent proposals to bolster NATO’s deterrence and defence, including with ”troops for NATO’s battlegroup in Latvia, combat aircraft for NATO’s air policing mission, and vessels for NATO’s Standing Naval Forces.” The Secretary General thanked Sweden for its offer to lead the new NATO battlegroup to be established in Finland. He noted that Sweden spends more than 2 percent of GDP on defence and welcomed the country’s plans to further boost its defence spending in 2025.

The Secretary General also noted Sweden’s steadfast support to Ukraine. “On a per capita basis, Sweden is a top supporter of Ukraine. Providing over 4 billion euros in military assistance,” he said. He reiterated that Allies are working hard to deliver on the commitments made during the Washington Summit on support for Ukraine, including “a new Command to coordinate security assistance and training, and a financial pledge of 40 billion euros as a minimum baseline in the coming year.”

Secretary General Rutte stressed that Ukraine’s path to membership is irreversible. “Every nation has the right to choose its own path. No one outside NATO or outside that particular country has a veto or a vote on this. Sweden’s seat at the NATO table shows exactly that,” he concluded.

Mr. Rutte praised Latvia for its many contributions to the Alliance. “You spend almost 3 percent of GDP on defence, you host a multinational battlegroup where Allies work side by side to defend NATO’s eastern flank, as well as military exercises to ensure that Latvian and Allied armed forces maintain a high level of readiness and interoperability,” said Mr Rutte at the joint press conference with Prime Minister Siliņa. He referred to Latvia’s commitment to increase defence spending to 3 percent of GDP and noted Riga’s ambition to reach this goal even sooner than expected. Mr. Rutte also commended Latvia for its contributions to NATO’s peacekeeping mission in Kosovo and NATO’s training mission in Iraq.

On Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the Secretary General reiterated that “we must deliver on the commitments we made at the Washington Summit,” noting that Russia has relentlessly attacked Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure with winter just around the corner. He recalled that “Latvia has provided extensive military training for Ukrainian soldiers” and leads a coalition that works with industry to supply drones.  “I welcome your recent announcement of a new military aid package, including armoured personnel vehicles,” added Mr. Rutte.