NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has met with Prime Minister Theresa May and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon on his visit to the UK.
Talks with the Prime Minister included discussions on the future of NATO and how it needs to adapt to the changed security environment. They discussed the importance of the transatlantic bond and Mr Stoltenberg praised the UK’s enduring commitment to NATO, in particular the UK’s continued investment in defence, in line with NATOs target of 2% GDP going into the sector.
The Secretary General highlighted the UK’s contribution to NATO missions, with a future deployment to Estonia next year part of the Alliance’s enhanced presence.
Discussions with Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon saw the two discuss how NATO can reassure allies and partners in Europe over an increasingly assertive Russia, with Mr Fallon also highlighting NATOs Enhanced Forward Presence for praise.
The UK will commit RAF Typhoon aircraft to Romania as part of the NATO Southern Air Policing mission to offer reassurance to Black Sea allies, while 800 personnel will be sent to Estonia as one of four framework battalions to NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence.
Agreements were also made over countering hybrid threats, supporting greater maritime co-operation and boosting cyber security, commitments which were made at the Warsaw and Wales Summits.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said: “Britain is stepping up to deal with the threats we face. The Army and RAF are providing assurance to NATO allies; with troops going to Estonia and Poland and jets being deployed to the Black Sea. Our Royal Navy is taking on people traffickers and training new Libyan forces in the Mediterranean. The UK is ahead of the NATO spending target and we’re ensuring the Royal Navy is growing with cutting-edge new aircraft carriers, frigates and submarines launching over the next few years.”
The Defence Secretary reaffirmed this commitment at last weeks Foreign Affairs Council (Defence), where he called on European partners to do more and increase their defence spending to the NATO 2% commitment, allowing them to be better positioned to tackle the new and emerging threats to European security.
The UK is one of the five of the 28 countries in NATO that meets the 2% spending target, with a £178Bn equipment plan and defence budget.
Mr Stoltenberg completed his visit with a keynote speech at Oxford University.
Image : ©Drop of Light
Defense Minister of Great Britain Michael Fallon, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and President Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at NATO summit in Poland
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ATO Southern Air Policing mission Michael Fallon NATO NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Theresa May
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