Category: North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Armenia is currently developing a new military education concept and doctrinal basis for its armed forces, in line with Western standards. NATO and Armenia will prioritise their cooperation on doctrine development, the approach to combined arms, strategic leadership, and on the drafting of a human resources concept for all different officer ranks and career paths.

NATO’s Defence Education Enhancement Programme is supporting the continued professionalisation of the Armenian security and defence structures, through institution building and faculty development activities, including by modernising the Language Centre and establishing an eLearning Centre in the national Military Academy. Additional efforts are being carried out to consolidate the National Defence Research University as strategic level military education institution and to boost the development of a NCO corps, with the aim to enhance the ability of Armenian personnel to work alongside NATO. 

Armenian Deputy Chief of Defence, Major General Arthur Yeroyan, underscored that the support provided by NATO through its Defence Education Enhancement Programme is key for the ongoing modernisation efforts of the Armenian forces and defence institutions.

The Deputy Secretary previewed the priorities of the NATO Summit in The Hague next week, where Allies are expected to agree a new defence investment plan that raises defence spending commitments to levels not seen in decades, reflecting the challenging security environment and taking into account the Capability Targets agreed by NATO Defence Ministers on 5 June 2025.  During her visit, increasing Allies’ defence industrial capacity and production and expediting innovation, adoption and integration in defence capabilities were among the main topics of discussion with executives from both established aerospace industry and start-ups. 
 
The Deputy Secretary General further stressed the importance of expanding and reinforcing transatlantic defence industry cooperation to ensure the delivery of the capabilities and technologies the Alliance needs now and in the future. 
 
The Deputy Secretary General also reviewed cutting-edge technologies in critical areas for defence including satellite communications, sensors and surveillance, secure information sharing and autonomous systems.

During his engagements with General Metin Gurak, the discussions focused on the road to the NATO Summit in The Hague, next week. Among other priorities, Admiral Cavo Dragone underscored in particular the importance for Allies to invest more in deterrence and defence. ​The CMC also praised Türkiye’s significant contributions within the Alliance, highlighting the country’s support and participation in NATO missions and exercise activities. Türkiye devotes more than 2 percent of its GDP in defence, and is channeling significant investment into its defence industrial base, working in close conjunction with countries across Europe and the United States.

While in Ankara, the Chair paid his respects to the memory of Türkiye’s fallen soldiers, by participating in a wreath-laying ceremony in Antikabir. In addition, he took the opportunity to engage with Turkish defence industry.

Speaking alongside Prime Minister Carney, Mr Rutte welcomed Canada’s decision to meet NATO’s defence investment target this year. “The fact that you decided to bring Canada to the 2% spending when it comes to NATO this year is really fantastic,” he said. He noted that, together with Portugal’s recent announcement to reach 2% of GDP this year, all NATO Allies will meet the benchmark in 2025. “That is really great news,” the Secretary General said.

In addition to discussions with G7 leaders, Secretary General Rutte held a number of bilateral meetings ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, including with the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese. 

While in Canada, Mr Rutte will have a number of bilateral meetings.

Media coverage

• Photographs of the Secretary General’s participation in the meeting will be available after the event on the NATO website. Video will also be available for free download from the NATO Multimedia Portal.

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Hosted at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France and attended by various European Union (EU) institutions, international organisations, civil society and youth organisations, the EYE brings together thousands of 16- to 30-year-olds from across the European Union, and beyond. It provides a platform for young people to exchange views and debate with European parliamentarians and other influential decision-makers.

For the first time, the event included a dedicated session on NATO and provided European youth with the opportunity to learn more about how the Alliance works to ensure peace and security for one billion people across Europe and North America. The briefing covered an introduction to NATO, a panel session in which young Europeans were able to ask questions to experts about the Alliance’s core business, and a fast-paced location-guessing challenge with a French professional Geoguessr, Bastel.

Geoguessr is an online game in which players are dropped in a random location somewhere in the world. Using a 360-degree image from Google Street View, they must guess where they have landed based on the scenery, geographical features, or local elements specific to certain locations. To help educate young people about the Alliance, a specific version of the game was created with 35 significant locations from NATO’s history, such as the Palais de Chaillot, opposite the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, where NATO’s Headquarters was based from 1952 to 1959. By playing along with Bastel and NATO staff, the more-than-150 attendees were able to learn more about the origins and relevance of the Alliance in a fun and engaging manner.

The event concluded with an open conversation between the young audience members and NATO experts. Questions centred around today’s security challenges, NATO-EU unity in the context of defence, and how young people can help contribute to the Alliance’s mission.

The official visit began with Admiral Cavo Dragone participating in a solemn wreath laying ceremony at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated to Greek soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

During his meeting with the Chief of Defence, General Dimitrios Choupis, and his staff, CMC praised Greece for its steadfast contribution with professional and committed armed forces to the Alliance’s approach to deterrence and defence.  The discussion then focused on the road to the NATO Summit in The Hague, and in particular about the call to Allies to invest more in defence.  “NATO must be ready to face any potential threat, coming from any domain,” said Admiral Cavo Dragone. “We are ready now, but we must continue to be ready in the future. For this, Allies have agreed on ambitious capability targets last week. And this requires an urgent step up in defence budgets, by each of the Allies.” In this regard, CMC commended Greece for “continually meeting the threshold of defence spending, and even investing well above the 2% mark.”

Additionally, in reference to the contribution that Greece provides for a stronger Alliance, General Choupis discussed with Admiral Cavo Dragone the national defence plan called ‘Agenda 2030’. The recent launch of the ‘Achilles Shield’ project was also highlighted, as an initiative to bolster the nation’s air and missile defence systems, which are part of the capabilities NATO has placed major emphasis on.

Mr Rutte noted that Sweden – NATO’s newest member – is “already making major contributions across the Alliance” since joining in March 2024, including through contributions to Forward Land Forces in Latvia, and leading NATO’s newly established Forward Land Forces in Finland.

“Your Gripen fighter jets help patrol the skies over Poland, and your ships contribute to our enhanced military presence in the Baltic Sea through Baltic Sentry,” he said. The Secretary General also highlighted how Sweden’s expertise in the High North strengthens NATO’s regional posture and reinforces the Alliance’s ability to support Baltic Allies. 

In 2024, Sweden invested 2.66% of GDP on defence, with plans to go further. “This is a clear demonstration of Sweden’s commitment to collective defence,” said the Secretary General.  Mr Rutte also underlined Sweden’s leadership in strengthening NATO’s defence industrial base. “You have a world-class defence sector,” he said. He welcomed Sweden’s role in defence industrial production, research, and resilience.

Secretary General Rutte also commended Sweden for its staunch support of Ukraine. “Since 2022, you have provided over 7 billion euros in military assistance – including 1.25 billion in the first four months of this year alone. In terms of GDP, this places Sweden among the top contributors to Ukraine.” He also welcomed Sweden’s investment in Ukraine’s defence industry, saying: “You are truly leading by example.”

Turning to the upcoming NATO Summit in The Hague, the Secretary General highlighted the need for increased investment and stronger defence industrial capacity. “I expect leaders to make bold decisions to further strengthen our deterrence and defence – including agreeing a new defence investment plan that would bring our defence investment to 5% of GDP.”

In Stockholm, Secretary General Rutte also took part in a panel discussion at the annual Bilderberg meeting, alongside the President of the European Investment Bank Nadia Calviño and US Army General Chris Donahue. The discussion was moderated by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland Radoslaw Sikorski.

During the event, participants from across the NATO structures, as well as wargaming experts from the United Kingdom, Sweden, and the Netherlands, were able to test next-generation systems against traditional naval platforms such as frigates, corvettes, maritime patrol aircraft and submarines. The wargame was designed to measure and compare how emerging disruptive technologies perform, with findings directly supporting NATO’s Task Force X and enhancing the Alliance’s overall defensive posture.

NATO’s Digital Ocean Vision initiative aims to enhance NATO’s maritime situational awareness from seabed to space, by strengthening coordination between national and Allied capabilities employed for maritime surveillance. It includes a broad range of assets from satellites to autonomous systems below, on, and above the sea.