Minister Naď joins SVK delegation to NATO Summit in Brussels

Strong transatlantic partnership, NATO 2030, Allied unity and cohesiveness – these were the central themes of the NATO Summit of Allied leaders at NATO HQ in Brussels on Monday 14 June 2021. The Slovak delegation was led by President and Commander-in-Chief of the Slovak Armed Forces Zuzana Čaputová, with Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Ivan Korčok as most senior government members. This was the first NATO Summit involving US President Joe Biden.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “The agenda of today's summit is the outcome of month-long discussions to set the main priorities in a number of important areas such as collective defence and the overall extension of the Allied approach to defence. This is a major step forward by which we and our partners acknowledge that we are willing to seize these tasks to the benefit of all NATO members, while NATO's adaptation to the changing security environment and our consensual position play a truly key role in this issue.”

The core priorities of the Slovak Republic at today's Brussels Summit were, above all, to reinforce NATO's defence dimension, to advance the NATO-EU relationship, and to strengthen collective defence and deterrence in the face of traditional and new security threats. In this context, Mr Naď emphasised that individual member states perceive the Alliance as the main organisational framework for delivering the collective defence of Allies and the Euro-Atlantic area. “One of our main priorities at the summit is to send out a signal that the transatlantic alliance is strong, that the Alliance is ready for new challenges, and that it has the ability to respond quickly and effectively,” he added.

NATO leaders agreed a set of nine main decisions regarding NATO 2030 to guide the Alliance's adaptation in the coming years. These include strengthening political consultations, keeping NATO’s technological edge, increasing resources, upholding the rules-based international order, stepping up training and capacity building for partners, and addressing NATO’s response to climate change. They also announced the beginning work on the next Strategic Concept, which will be endorsed by NATO leaders at the next NATO Summit in Madrid in 2022.