Category: Military

The Secretary General, welcomed by Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, addressed the urgent need for enhanced defence capabilities amid growing global threats. “There is no strong defence without a strong defence industry,” he stated, praising Airbus for contributions like the A400M aircraft and the MRTT [in full]. One week after the agreement on a 5% GDP defence spending target reached by Allies at NATO’s Summit in The Hague, he urged the industry to innovate and scale up production to meet NATO’s ambitious capability targets and keep our one billion people safe. 

Following his address, Secretary General Rutte held a bilateral meeting with CEO Mr Faury and his team, and visited the A321 Final Assembly Line, interacting with Airbus employees. The visit underscores NATO’s commitment to fostering transatlantic industrial cooperation to deliver critical capabilities for the years to come.

With a long tradition dating back to 1851, World Expos (also known as World’s Fairs) are grand international exhibitions where countries unite to showcase their cultures, technologies and innovations, fostering global cooperation and exchanging new ideas. Since 2000, they have taken place once every five years.

Osaka’s Expo is taking place over several months, from 13 April to 13 October. The “NATO Days” will take place in August aligning appropriately with the “Peace, Human Security and Dignity Week.” Although NATO is not an official Expo participant, it will collaborate closely with NATO member countries hosting pavilions at the event — a partnership facilitated by the Mission of Japan to NATO and coordinated through Norway and Romania, NATO’s Contact Point Embassies for Japan.

This collaboration is a prime example of NATO’s broad framework of partnership with Japan. Since the early 1990s, NATO and Japan have been working together on a range of global security challenges, enhancing political dialogue and practical cooperation, and upholding and strengthening the rules-based international order. This complements the firm relationships between NATO and its other partners in the Indo-Pacific region: Australia, the Republic of Korea and New Zealand.

NATO’s engagement activities during the “Peace, Security and Dignity Week” will emphasise the importance of multilateralism and cooperative security in addressing today’s complex challenges, including cyber security, hybrid threats, information threats, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, emerging technologies, and industrial cooperation. The events will also showcase NATO’s Science for Peace and Security Programme, promoting joint scientific research, technological innovation and knowledge exchange.

Like many other countries and organisations who will be represented in Osaka by mascots, NATO will be travelling to Japan with a new version of its long-term unofficial mascot, the NATO Hedgehog. Hedgehogs are peaceful animals, but formidable and resilient when attacked, making them the perfect representation of NATO’s role as a defensive alliance.

The provisional agenda for NATO’s participation at the Expo can be found below. Sign-up links for events requiring registration will be shared in late July. Any questions may be addressed to Dr Pietro De Matteis, Programme Officer for the Indo-Pacific.

1 August

• Romanian Pavilion: Opening of the “Home Beyond the Dawn: Contemporary Art Exhibit”. This exhibition features works by Ukrainian artists and is organised by the European Union in collaboration with Romania. The exhibition will be open until 12 August.

5 August – Ukrainian National Day at Expo 2025

• Romanian Pavilion: 15:30–16:30 – Panel discussion with Ukrainian artists of the “Home Beyond the Dawn: Contemporary Art Exhibit” on the topic: “Art as an instrument for resistance and solidarity in times of war”.
   
• Belgian Pavilion:
  • 17:00–18:00 (provisional) – Panel discussion on “Women (artists) at war” to contribute to the celebration of Ukraine National Day at World Expo Osaka celebrated on 5 August.
  • 20:00–21:00 (provisional) – Cultural event with Ukrainian DJ Reset at the Belgian Pavilion organised by the European Union in collaboration with the Belgian Pavilion and Ukraine.
     
• Expo Guest House:19:00–20:30 – Official Reception linked to the Ukraine National Day at Expo Guest House (by invitation only).

7 August

• Nordic Pavilion: 10:00–13:30 – NATO Conference Day 1: “NATO’s Contribution to Preserving Peace & Stability” at the shared pavilion of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The conference will provide an opportunity to discuss NATO’s engagement and its commitment to peace, security and international cooperation with representatives from the diplomatic community, international organisations, academia, think-tanks and youth.
   
• Nordic Pavilion: 19:00–21:00 (provisional) – Networking Reception

8 August

• Nordic Pavilion: 10:00–13:30 –NATO Conference Day 2 – Continuation of the conference “NATO’s Contribution to Preserving Peace & Stability”
   
• Nordic Pavilion: 14:30–16:30 (provisional) – “Youth for peace & security”. Activities involving young people from Japan and NATO member countries in partnership with Japanese universities.
   
• Czech Pavilion: 13:00–18:00 –NATO Industry Day: “Designing Future Security for Our Lives”. This event will present NATO’s approach to industrial cooperation and foster connections with businesses, startups and young entrepreneurs from NATO member and partner countries.
   
• Czech Pavilion: 19:00–21:00 – NATO Days Closing reception: A Spectacle of Air and Water show