Category: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

In his keynote speech for the Arctic Circle Assembly, Admiral Bauer started by sharing NATO’s view on the current security environment in the Arctic. “The increased competition and militarisation in the Arctic region, especially by Russia and China, is concerning. The melting ice in the Arctic is creating new sea routes that would facilitate the movement of large vessels and shorten navigation times.  We cannot be naïve and ignore the potentially nefarious intentions of some actors in the region. We must remain vigilant and prepare for the unexpected”, he noted.

He then proceeded to explain the implications of the new Regional Plan North, highlighting that “this plan specifically sees to the Atlantic and European Arctic, and falls under the command of our newest Allied Joint Force Command in Norfolk”. “JFC Norfolk sees to it that NATO’s force posture supports Arctic operations and provides greater Arctic defence coherence. This ensures that forces and equipment can flow between the continents in conflict and peace and protects our freedom of navigation”, the Chair also noted in his remarks.

In his meeting with the Icelandic Chief of Defence, Mr Jonas Allansson, Admiral Bauer commended Iceland for its support and contributions to NATO. “Iceland is a smaller nation with a smaller population, but you still contribute meaningfully to our Alliance. Amongst other things, you host strategic NATO and Allied assets, you have personnel deployed on our Eastern Flank and you increase our situational awareness in the North Atlantic. In addition, you show true leadership on the Women, Peace and Security agenda. And you support key partners, including Ukraine”, he highlighted. 

Sitting down with Mr Bjarni Benediktsson, the Icelandic Minister of Foreign Affairs, Admiral Bauer reiterated the key role Iceland plays in the region, as a NATO Ally but also as a member of the Arctic Council. “When Sweden joins, following in the footsteps of Finland, seven of the eight members of the Arctic Council will be NATO Allies. We are grateful to our Nordic Allies for their enhanced cooperation, investment and vigilance in the region. The Arctic has always had a strategic importance to NATO, and we must ensure it remains free and navigable”, he added. Admiral Bauer and Minister Benediktsson also exchanged views on security issues outside of the Arctic region, especially those related to the war in Ukraine and the volatile situation in the Middle East. 

Meeting with the Chairman of the Arctic Circle Assembly, Mr Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Admiral Bauer praised the quality and value of the Arctic Circle Assembly, as a platform officials, regional actors and industry to come together and discuss key issues relating to the Arctic. “In the last decade, the growing importance of the Arctic has been undeniable, especially due to its natural resources, maritime potential and strategic location. However, it is also a fragile ecosystem on the planet and has been suffering from the effects of climate change. Bringing experts from a variety of fields together to share ideas, studies and discuss the varying interests in the region, hopefully, helps leaders make better choices and builds understanding”, underscored the Admiral. 

He will also meet with the Prime Minister of Sweden, Mr Ulf Kristersson, the Minister of Defence, Mr Pål Jonson, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Tobias Billström, as well as the Speaker of the Swedish Parliament, Mr Andreas Norlén.
 

Media advisory

24 October 2023, 13:20 (CEST)        Joint press conference by the NATO Secretary General with the Prime Minister of Sweden

25 October 2023, 09:20 (CEST)       Speech by the NATO Secretary General at the NATO-Industry Forum
 

Media coverage

The Secretary General’s press conference with the Swedish Prime Minister, as well as his speech at the NATO-Industry Forum, will be streamed live on the NATO website.

Transcripts of the Secretary General’s engagements, as well as photographs, will be available on the NATO website after the events.
 

For more information:

Contact the NATO Press Office

Follow us on Twitter (@NATO, @jensstoltenberg and @NATOPress)

“We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we remain in close contact with our Allies Estonia and Finland, and our partner Sweden,” said acting NATO spokesperson Dylan White. “NATO will continue to adapt its maritime posture in the Baltic Sea and will take all necessary steps to keep Allies safe.” 

Since the Nord Stream sabotage in September 2022, NATO has enhanced patrols near critical undersea infrastructure and has promoted technological innovation – including with drones – to better detect any suspicious activity.  Earlier this year, NATO created an undersea infrastructure coordination cell to deepen ties between governments, military, industry actors and NATO, and has since established the NATO Maritime Centre for the Security of Critical Undersea Infrastructure within NATO’s Maritime Command.
 

At the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Allies agreed a Defence Production Action Plan, to aggregate demand, boost capacity, and increase interoperability. The Secretary General stressed that now is the time to turn the plan into results.  Mr Stoltenberg highlighted the importance of armament deliveries to Ukraine, the need to refill stockpiles and to ensure the defence capabilities of the Alliance. He also welcomed Allies’ commitment to making new investments in ammunition.  

Meeting at least biannually, the CNAD’s mission is to enable cooperation in the delivery of interoperable military capabilities. It ensures that NATO forces have state-of-the-art capabilities readily available at all times.

The group met with senior civilian and military officials at NATO Headquarters to discuss the Alliance’s southern neighbourhood, including emerging challenges and opportunities. The group will take stock of evolving developments and identify concrete recommendations to shape the Alliance’s future approach, including by outlining opportunities for further engagement and cooperation with partner nations, international organisations and other relevant actors.

Established in early October, the group is composed of eleven experts, chaired by Professor Ana Santos Pinto from Portugal. They will report back to the Secretary General ahead of the meeting of Foreign Ministers in April 2024. 

There will be no media opportunity.

Photographs will be availble on the NATO website after the event. 

For more information:

Contact the NATO Press Office.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATO, @jensstoltenberg and @NATOPress).

The origins of a combat sports champion

“I embarked on this journey when I was eight,” says Martina. “As a child, I was bullied at school. To break that cycle, after discussions with my parents, I decided to sign up for a sports class that consisted of different physical activities with elements of combat. Furthermore, my dad himself started training me in wrestling and self-defence. He was expecting that I would switch to a more ‘girly’ sport later, but when he saw how much I enjoyed it, he started supporting me fully.” From then on, things took a quick turn. Martina joined a martial arts club and started practising two types of combat sports: hand-to-hand combat and kickboxing. She took part in official kickboxing competitions and brought home her first trophies by the age of 14.

Martina is still active in the fighting arena and on top of that, she leads combat sports classes for her students. As she explains, combat sports have always appealed to her because they allow her to use all of her strengths. “I’m fast, strong and not afraid. I enjoy fighting, working hard and pushing the boundaries, especially when someone says something cannot be done. What helps me persist are three words that I repeat before every fight: faith, courage, victory. Believe in yourself, don’t be afraid and succeed.”

Fight like a girl: training NATO troops in Jordan

Martina’s work with NATO started six years ago. Through the Czech Army, she began cooperating with the Alliance on small diplomatic and combat training tasks, growing into a full-fledged collaboration by instructing NATO troops in hand-to-hand combat during training sessions and even missions. Additionally, Martina has trained soldiers at King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center (KASOTC) in Amman, Jordan – an international counter-terrorism, special operations and hybrid warfare tactics centre.

“This centre is simply unique. The training ground includes special firing ranges, a full-fledged training aircraft, abseiling and climbing towers, and sophisticated infrastructure. It is like a small city, suitable for training in various situations and troops from all over the world use it. When you enter it, it makes you feel like you are on a set of an action movie: noises, shooting and screaming everywhere. For an untrained individual, it could cause quite a bit of panic.”

The training she conducted focused on different areas, such as border protection or improving skills in the combat space. “You can never prepare for those scenarios, every day is different and there is no stopping. Moreover, the weather conditions take it out of you. The air there is incredibly heavy and hot, and the mountainous terrain makes the training even harder.”

Despite the challenging conditions, Martina remembers her time in Jordan with fondness – this is where she won a nomination for the elite world championship in appreciation of her hard work at the centre and also her previous fight results. “I am glad to have left a Czech girl’s mark at the training centre and obtained respect of the troops and my colleagues,” she explains. “And above everything, I am proud of myself because I never got anything for free and had to earn everything, including my place there.”

Martina acknowledges that her beginnings as a young woman conducting combat training were not easy. “The first time I taught a combat class, I came into the room and everyone kept waiting for the trainer, the leader. They could not connect the dots that I was the coach. I really had to prove myself to be accepted and respected as a female trainer. These days, it does not throw me off anymore, but it proves a point: things are more difficult for me as a girl in this field. I do not know any women working in my area.”

From battlegroups to boardrooms: bridging the two sides of NATO

For Martina, cooperation with NATO goes beyond combat training. As a graduate in international affairs, she is also close to the Alliance’s political dimension: she has attended several NATO summits as a Czech goodwill ambassador and a youth sports ambassador and in 2023, she was one of the speakers at the NATO Youth Summit in Brussels. “The atmosphere at the event was fantastic and I was proud to receive positive feedback for my speech. When they praise you and you get to meet somebody like the NATO Secretary General, you cannot be happier.”

When working with others for the Alliance, be it soldiers, fellow instructors or NATO civilian staff, what Martina enjoys the most is their enthusiasm and dedication to NATO’s values. “Every task I have worked on, from training to political events, has impacted me deeply. I got to meet people from all over the world with various experiences, habits, daily routines and cultural backgrounds, and had a chance to create bonds with them, confiding and learning from each other.”

What would Martina’s advice be for staying resilient and fighting for one’s goals?

“Realise why you started. Everybody wants results, but only a few are willing to strive for them. It is important to remain determined, do not let anybody break you. I always say that the sky is the limit for my goals and plans. My dad has been an excellent school in that regard – he taught me that no matter what happens, I should just take a deep breath, wait ten minutes and try again. I sometimes joke that those who have not gotten to know my dad do not know what life is. However, we should not forget that we do not always have to be machines and that failing is part of the journey.”

After a welcome by Supreme Allied Commander Europe General Chris Cavoli, the Military Representatives received an introduction to the ongoing exercise STEADFAST JUPITER 23, a command and control exercise, designed to rehearse and challenge NATO’s enhanced plan for Deterrence and Defence, bolstering allied interoperability across 24 headquarters, from strategic to the tactical levels of warfighting.  General Cavoli highlighted that STEADFAST JUPITER 2023 is the first exercise, where the training audience is utilising the concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA) Family of Plans to validate processes and procedures across the ACO community and SHAPE’s adaptation to a strategic warfighting headquarters.

Following the Vilnius Summit and the decisions to further strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence and defence posture, SHAPE is taking a more holistic approach by implementing the DDA across all domains. As such, SHAPE is adapting its role, tasks and responsibilities to optimise its capacity to operate as NATO’s strategic warfighting headquarters. The ongoing changes will allow it to incorporate all the tools of the Alliance to deter, and if needed, defeat any adversaries, for 24 hours a day in continuous and contested environments.

Admiral Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, highlighted that “these changes are essential to our Alliance, especially as NATO is transitioning from an era of crisis management to a new era of collective defence. We have a responsibility to keep our territory and our 1 billion people safe, but that means adapting and evolving to respond to current and growing threats”.

These deployments are a prudent step to ensure KFOR has the forces it needs to fulfil its UN mandate to maintain a safe and secure environment and freedom of movement for all people in Kosovo. They are based on a request by NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe and were approved by Allies in the North Atlantic Council.

NATO has been leading a peacekeeping operation in Kosovo since 1999 in accordance with its mandate under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. KFOR currently consists of well over 4,500 troops contributed by 27 NATO Allies and partners.

Lieutenant General Adamczak started his visit to Uzbekistan by meeting the Deputy Minister of Defence for Educational and Ideological Affairs, Major General Hamdam Karshiev. Lieutenant General Adamczak noted, “NATO remains committed to maintaining robust political dialogue and practical cooperation with Uzbekistan. This partnership is vital to promoting security and stability in the region, and highlights our commitment to addressing common challenges as well as fostering positive developments in the Central Asia region.”

At the Academy of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Director General gave a lecture on NATO’s global outreach and cooperative frameworks, commending Uzbekistan for seeing the value of working together since the 1990s to tackle common challenges, protect our shared security and common values.

Travelling to the outskirts of the capital, Lieutenant General Adamczak and his delegation were able to visit the “Chimyon” Mountain Training Centre, one of the Uzbekistan’s five mountain training facilities. While touring the training facilities, the Commander briefed the group on the centre’s main tasks and responsibilities, including specialised training of Ministry of Defence units, up to 300 military personnel, through a variety of courses over a year-long period. 

The visit to the Uzbek Armed Forces Partnership for Peace Training Centre further displayed Uzbekistan’s ongoing engagement through NATO’s Partnership for Peace initiative. Lieutenant General Adamczak underscored the benefits of partnerships and working together on common challenges, shared security interests, and regional stability amidst a complex global security landscape.