P. Gajdoš: Slovakia will reaffirm its increased defence spending and international crisis management commitments at the upcoming NATO Summit in Brussels

At the upcoming NATO Summit in Brussels, the Slovak Republic will reaffirm its commitment to increased defence spending; express its support to NATOʼs open door policy; acknowledge its international crisis management commitments; and announce an increase in its force contribution to the Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan under the Government-approved mandate. NATO-Russia relations and NATOʼs enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in the Baltics will be high on the agenda. The SVK Cabinet has today approved the official positions of the SVK delegation to the NATO Summit, to be held on 11-12 July 2018 in the format of Heads of State and Government.

 

Commenting on the agenda of the NATO Summit, SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “Our support to NATO’s open door policy is unambiguous. Likewise, we will acknowledge our continued engagement in the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan, including our financial contributions to Afghanistan until 2024. And the decision on the stand-up of a new NATO training mission in Iraq is of very great importance too.” At the same time, he reaffirmed the planned increases of 1.6% of GDP on defence by 2020 and 2% of GDP on defence by 2024. “The aim of our increased defence spending is to strengthen our own defence capabilities as well as NATO’s collective defence,” said Head of the SVK MOD.
 

 

The Slovak Republic will also reaffirm its intention to meet the NATO Capability Targets ensuing from NATO’s collective defence requirements, including the commitment to stand up a Heavy Mechanised Brigade. The positions of the Slovak Republic at the NATO Summit in Brussels will be aligned with the 2018 Slovak Foreign and European Policy Focus and the SVK Government Manifesto.