Category: Military

During his visit, Mr. Colomina held bilateral consultations with the Permanent Representatives of the Members of the League of Arab States (LAS), hosted by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain, together with the Permanent Delegation of the League of Arab States to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva. Mr. Colomina reaffirmed the importance of NATO’s cooperation with the LAS and outlined NATO’s growing strategic focus on the Southern Neighbourhood. He illustrated the progress made on the implementation of NATO’s Southern Neighbourhood Action Plan approved at the NATO Summit in Washington D.C. last July, his mandate as NATO’s Special Representative for Southern Neighbourhood, and the Alliance’s robust network of partnerships and broad engagement with key stakeholders across the Middle East and Africa.

While in Geneva, the Special Representative also delivered a keynote address at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), during an event co-sponsored by NATO and entitled “Shaping Cooperative Security: NATO and Southern Partners before the Hague Summit 2025.” The event brought together diplomats from the Southern Neighbourhood and policymakers, including from NATO partners, as well as civil society representatives, legal experts, academics, researchers and journalists to explore the evolving security environment and NATO’s engagement with its southern partners.

Additionally, Mr. Colomina held discussions with NATO Allies’ Permanent Representatives based in Geneva, United Nations officials, the leadership of the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) and members of the humanitarian community.

Mr Rutte will address the Plenary Session and participate in a Q&A moderated by the NPA President, Mr Marcos Perestrello.

He will also have meetings with Dr Denis Bećirović, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr Elmedin Konaković, and with a US Congressional Delegation led by Representative Michael Turner.

Media advisory

26 May, 15:55 (CEST) Address by the Secretary General to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, followed by moderated conversation

Media coverage

• The Secretary General’s remarks at the NPA will be streamed live on the NATO website.
• Transcripts of the Secretary General’s remarks, as well as photographs, will be available on the NATO website.

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Held at the Polish Cyber Command in Legionowo, the Conference brought together representatives from NATO member states as well as from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Ukraine and the European Commission and the European External Action Service. Commander of the Polish Cyber Command Major General Karol Molenda and NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Innovation, Hybrid and Cyber, Ambassador Jean-Charles Ellermann-Kingombe co-chaired the event.

The NATO Cyber Defence Pledge Conference provides a unique platform for Allies and, since 2023, for a selected group of Partners to share experiences and exchange best practices in implementing NATO’s Cyber Defence Pledge, a mechanism that helps guide national efforts to boost the cyber defences of their networks and infrastructures.

At the 2023 NATO Summit in Vilnius, Allies took further steps to enhance the Pledge, including new national goals to further strengthen national cyber defences.

At the 2025 Conference, participants reflected on national progress made to achieve greater cyber maturity for critical infrastructure, particularly for the energy, transport, communications and water sectors. They explored best practices for stronger cooperation between public institutions and the private sector, at both the national and international levels. They addressed challenges to increasing cyber resilience and underlined the importance of leveraging innovation for cyber defence.   

Looking ahead, participants agreed on the need to increase information exchange, in order to increase national and collective cyber resilience.

Speaking alongside Prime Minister Gahr Støre aboard the Norwegian Coast Guard vessel Svalbard, the Secretary General praised Norway’s leadership and emphasised the strategic importance of the region. He said the visit was important not only for NATO and Norway, but also for understanding how Allies are working together to keep NATO territory safe.

Secretary General Rutte underlined the value of coordination among the seven NATO countries with territory in the High North: Iceland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Canada and the United States. “With Norway being one of the seven High North countries, this is an important element of this vision to understand better what is the situation in the High North,” he said. “We are doing more and more together, and also NATO is getting more and more involved to see how we can best coordinate all those efforts. And we know that these sea lanes are opening up, that the Russians and the Chinese are more and more active here.”

Turning to the NATO Summit in The Hague, the Secretary General noted the need to increase defence spending. He emphasised that Allies must invest in order to deliver the capabilities needed to defend NATO not only today, but in the years ahead, “knowing that Russia is actively reconstituting itself.” Mr Rutte also pointed to China’s military build-up and ongoing terrorist threats as examples of why NATO Allies will need to invest well above the 2% of GDP target. 

The Secretary General also highlighted the importance of civil preparedness. “Norway is an absolute leader when it comes to a whole society approach,” he said. “We need the whole society to be involved if the Russians are a long term threat.”

“For France and for me personally, it is an honour and immense privilege to take over command of the NATO Mission in Iraq, a country often regarded as the cradle of civilization,” Major General Hintzy said. “Together with Iraqi security institutions and Iraqi Security Forces, we share a common goal. Our success will never be an individual success, but rather a collective one to develop tailored and sustainable solutions that will help Iraq as a valued partner for NATO,” he pointed out.

The outgoing commander, Lieutenant General Lucas Schreurs, thanked his Iraqi counterparts for their hospitality and excellent cooperation and praised them for their commitment to the cooperation with NATO and to further strengthening the Iraqi security forces and institutions. “To our Iraqi partners — your resilience and leadership inspire us. We have learned much from you, and it has been a privilege to serve alongside you. To our Allies and partners — thank you for investing in Iraq’s future and in our shared security,” he said. “Christophe, I pass this command to you with full confidence. You inherit a team of dedicated professionals and a resilient network of partnerships. I know you will lead with vision and respect for both NATO’s principles and the Iraqi context. This mission is about people — about trust, support, and sovereignty. I know you will carry it forward with the integrity it deserves,” Lieutenant General Schreurs added.

At the NATO Summit in Brussels in July 2018, Allied leaders launched NATO Mission Iraq, following a request and upon invitation from the Government of Iraq. The mission was established in Baghdad, in October 2018. It is a non-combat, advisory, and capacity-building mission that assists Iraq in building more sustainable, transparent, inclusive and effective security institutions and forces, so that they themselves are able to stabilise their country, fight terrorism, and prevent the return of ISIS/Daesh.

All efforts of NATO Mission Iraq are carried out with the consent of the Iraqi government and conducted in full respect of Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Ahead of the change of command ceremony of NATO Mission Iraq, NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Operations, Tom Goffus, participated in the second meeting of the High-Level Dialogue for Partnership between NATO and Iraq, held in Baghdad, on 21 May. “This second meeting of the High-Level Dialogue for Partnership, here in Baghdad, is a testimony to our partnership with Iraq and to cementing this dialogue,” he said, adding that “NATO continues to stand prepared to support the Government of Iraq and its security institutions into the future through NATO Mission Iraq.”

The High-Level Dialogue for Partnership between NATO and Iraq was launched in Brussels on 27 August 2024. It provides an additional framework for consultations and exchange of views on issues of mutual interest – including stability across the Middle East.