Category: Military

The conference, hosted at the Multinational Joint Warfare Centre (MJWC) by the Chief of Turkish General Staff General Metin Gürak, included discussions on ways to strengthen peace, security, and military cooperation. It gathered the CHODs, high level authorities and senior military officials from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Türkiye, Croatia, and Slovenia. Participants were addressed by the Vice President of Türkiye, Cevdet Yılmaz.

In his intervention, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee emphasised the strategic importance of the Balkans and stated: “This region continues to be among NATO’s top priorities.” He also highlighted the benefits and need for continued military cooperation between Balkan countries, stressing that “dialogue on doctrine, tactics, and even procurement pathways can help avoid duplication and foster interoperability.”

This year’s conference focused on “The Vision for Use of Uncrewed Systems in the Future Operating Environment” and was an opportunity to exchange views on strengthening military cooperation as well as opportunities and challenges related to uncrewed systems. The program addressed the development of autonomous technologies, artificial intelligence-supported decision-making mechanisms, human-machine cooperation on the battlefield, and the technological, strategic, and ethical aspects of uncrewed systems.

Over the course of the conference Admiral Cavo Dragone also held several bilateral meetings to discuss current security challenges, preparations to NATO Summit and the upcoming Military Committee Conference.

Since its creation in 2007, the Balkan Countries CHODs Conference has been an important regional military forum where the promotion of cooperation, stability, and confidence among the Balkan countries has been paramount. It has confirmed the commitment of all members to provide timely and efficient responses to diverse security challenges and threats in the region.

“Iceland is one of NATO’s twelve founding members,” said the Secretary General. “For 76 years now, you have helped protect our peace, our security, and our core values: democracy, freedom, and the rule of law.”

While Iceland does not have armed forces, the Secretary General highlighted the country’s important and growing role in NATO. Iceland operates key air defence and surveillance systems as part of NATO’s integrated Air and Missile Defence, provides host nation support and infrastructure for Allied air policing, and regularly hosts major exercises such as NATO´s premier anti-submarine warfare exercise, Dynamic Mongoose.

“Iceland plays a unique and essential role in the High North,” said Mr Rutte, noting the importance of Iceland’s geostrategic location to better understand the evolving security environment in that area. He welcomed the Icelandic government’s decision to develop a new national security and defence policy, calling it a timely step to “further reinforce our resilience and readiness.”

On the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, the Secretary General indicated it “will be an important moment to drive forward NATO’s efforts to become stronger, fairer, and more lethal”.

Mr Rutte thanked Prime Minister Frostadóttir for Iceland’s continued support to Ukraine, from training military personnel and supporting demining efforts, to humanitarian support and weapons procurement. Iceland recently pledged an additional 14.4 million euros in defence support to Ukraine, alongside contributions to the “Grain from Ukraine” initiative and the donation of a mobile field hospital. Iceland also contributes personnel to NATO’s Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine command in Wiesbaden (NSATU).

“I know that Iceland has a proud tradition as a peaceful nation – and that makes your contributions all the more meaningful,” Mr Rutte said. “Because to preserve peace, we need to shift to a wartime mindset.”

NATO and the European Union have long been close partners and have numerous shared security interests. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO Allies – many of which are also EU member states – have been providing the overwhelming majority of military, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. This has been decisive in helping Ukraine defend its sovereignty. As US-led efforts to bring an end to the war continue, and with the changing security environment at the forefront of leaders’ minds, both organisations have indicated that their support will endure. 

NATO supports Ukraine through NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine (NSATU) – a command that coordinates the provision of military equipment and training to Ukraine by Allies and partner countries, the Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre (JATEC) in Poland which, jointly with Ukraine, identifies and applies lessons from Russia’s war, the Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP), the NATO Representation to Ukraine (NRU) and a number of other mechanisms including the NATO-Ukraine Council. In addition to EU financial support to Ukraine, EU initiatives such as the EU Military Assistance Mission have trained more than 75,000 Ukrainian soldiers, making a meaningful difference on the battlefield.

We stand in solidarity with the Czech Republic following the malicious cyber campaign against its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We recognise that the Government of the Czech Republic has attributed the responsibility to the People’s Republic of China, specifically APT31, which is associated with the Ministry of State Security. This campaign targeted a Czech MFA unclassified network, causing damage and disruption.

We strongly condemn malicious cyber activities intended to undermine our national security, democratic institutions and critical infrastructure. The malicious cyber activity targeting the Czech Republic underscores that cyberspace is contested at all times. We observe with increasing concern the growing pattern of malicious cyber activities stemming from the People’s Republic of China.

Cyber threat actors persistently seek to destabilise the Alliance. We remain committed to expose and counter the substantial, continuous and increasing cyber threat, including to our democratic systems and critical infrastructure. We are determined to further improve our capabilities and resilience and to employ the necessary capabilities in order to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyber threats to support each other.

We promote a free, open, peaceful and secure cyberspace. We call on all states, including the People’s Republic of China, to refrain from malicious cyber activities, to uphold international law, to live up to their public declarations and international commitments, and to act within the framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace as affirmed by all members of the United Nations.

“Our gathering in Naples comes as a result of the decision taken by Allied leaders at NATO’s Washington Summit last summer – to adopt a Southern Neighbourhood Action Plan for a stronger, more strategic and result-oriented approach towards the region. We are approaching the first anniversary of the adoption of the Plan; this Security Dialogue is a reflection of how far we have come in ensuring that the southern neighbourhood is systematically included in NATO’s agenda,” Mr. Colomina pointed out. He added that this initiative “provides a unique opportunity to discuss the evolving security situation in the region, and to exchange views on our priorities for cooperation, with the direct involvement of our capitals.” 

NATO’s Special Representative also illustrated the development of a NATO–Southern Neighbourhood Partners’ Agenda for Tackling Security Challenges. This document was produced in consultation with Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) partners, and was endorsed by NATO Foreign Ministers at their meeting in Brussels in April. It identifies priority areas for thematic dialogues, including strategic perspectives on regional security, counter-terrorism, cyber defence, maritime security, countering information threats, scientific cooperation, Small Arms and Light Weapons and Mine Action (SALW/MA), and climate change and security.

The event was co-organised by the office of the NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Southern Neighbourhood and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. It featured around 90 participants from NATO Allies, partner countries from NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue and Istanbul Cooperation Initiative,and regional organisations.