NATO Ministerial: Slovakia supports NATOʼs 360-degree approach, P. Gajdoš announces
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- Date: 04.10.2018
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Slovakia supports NATOʼs 360-degree approach to security threats and challenges as well as fairer burden sharing. This announcement was made by SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš at the conclusion of the NATO Defence Ministersʼ Meeting in Brussels on Thursday (4 October 2018).
On NATOʼs all-round, 360-degree approach to security, Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “We acknowledge this approach not only by sustaining our military professionals on international crisis management missions and operations but also by increasing our defence expenditure. Our goal is to achieve 2 % of GDP on defence by 2024, which will allow us to have adequate capabilities and to have armed forces that are trained, equipped and ready to intervene. Put simply, young and modern.” In his own words, the Slovak Republic is delivering on its commitments vis-à-vis Allies, while putting a special emphasis on the provision of self-defence.
Over the past two days, Ministers have focused attention on where the Alliance is heading now and its tasks to be accomplished by the next Ministerial meeting, due in the spring of 2019. In light of this, they confirmed that the initiatives adopted at the July NATO Summit in Brussels will be further elaborated on, emphasised the need for NATO-EU cooperation, especially on cyber security and countering hybrid threats, and reviewed the progress made in implementing military mobility.
Among other topics of discussion were the security situation in the Black Sea and NATO-Georgia cooperation. On the latter point, Minister Gajdoš confirmed that Slovakia views Georgia as a significant partner and is ready to assist Georgia in its Euro-Atlantic integration efforts and continue to provide advice and support.
On the margins of the official Ministerial meeting, the Defence Ministers of the countries participating in the Canadian-led enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battle Group in Latvia met in a joint session, aimed at exchanging information updates and lessons learned. A total of 152 Slovak personnel have been deployed on eFP duties on Ādaži Training Area in Latvia.
On NATOʼs all-round, 360-degree approach to security, Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš said: “We acknowledge this approach not only by sustaining our military professionals on international crisis management missions and operations but also by increasing our defence expenditure. Our goal is to achieve 2 % of GDP on defence by 2024, which will allow us to have adequate capabilities and to have armed forces that are trained, equipped and ready to intervene. Put simply, young and modern.” In his own words, the Slovak Republic is delivering on its commitments vis-à-vis Allies, while putting a special emphasis on the provision of self-defence.
Over the past two days, Ministers have focused attention on where the Alliance is heading now and its tasks to be accomplished by the next Ministerial meeting, due in the spring of 2019. In light of this, they confirmed that the initiatives adopted at the July NATO Summit in Brussels will be further elaborated on, emphasised the need for NATO-EU cooperation, especially on cyber security and countering hybrid threats, and reviewed the progress made in implementing military mobility.
Among other topics of discussion were the security situation in the Black Sea and NATO-Georgia cooperation. On the latter point, Minister Gajdoš confirmed that Slovakia views Georgia as a significant partner and is ready to assist Georgia in its Euro-Atlantic integration efforts and continue to provide advice and support.
On the margins of the official Ministerial meeting, the Defence Ministers of the countries participating in the Canadian-led enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battle Group in Latvia met in a joint session, aimed at exchanging information updates and lessons learned. A total of 152 Slovak personnel have been deployed on eFP duties on Ādaži Training Area in Latvia.
