NATO update

24 March 2023 Update NATO Secretary General launches his Annual Report for 2022 Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on 21 March 2023 launched his annual report for 2022, covering all aspects of the Alliance’s work over the past year. As Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its second year, Mr Stoltenberg praised the “steely resistance of the Ukrainian people” and NATO Allies’ “unprecedented support for Ukraine”. He said that President Putin “wanted less NATO, but he has got exactly the opposite: more NATO”, underlining that Finland and Sweden’s accession “will make them safer, our Alliance stronger, and demonstrate that NATO’s door remains open”. READ MORE Secretary General welcomes progress on Finland’s road to NATO membership Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto and Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen to NATO Headquarters on 20 March 2023 for talks on Finland’s progress toward membership in the Alliance. READ MORE Allies take further steps to establish NATO Innovation Fund At the 2022 Madrid Summit, 22 Allies launched the NATO Innovation Fund, the world’s first multi-sovereign venture capital fund. Since then, significant steps have been made to fully establish the Fund by NATO’s Vilnius Summit in July 2023. READ MORE Secretary General thanks Norway for key contributions to NATO security On 24 March 2023 Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre to NATO Headquarters. They discussed NATO’s role in the protection of undersea critical infrastructure, which is vital for the security of Allies. READ MORE In a historic first, Swiss defence minister joins meeting of NATO's North Atlantic Council Viola Amherd, Swiss Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport, visited NATO Headquarters on 22 March 2023 for talks with Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, and to meet with NATO ambassadors. READ MORE Secretary General welcomes Foreign Minister of Iraq to NATO During the visit of Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to NATO Headquarters, the Secretary General thanked Iraq for its commitment to its partnership with NATO, particularly with respect to fighting international terrorism and promoting stability in the region. READ MORE NATO Secretary General welcomes multinational fleet of tanker transport On 23 March 2023, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the launch of a Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) aircraft fleet that is "now ready for a full range of missions" at Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands. READ MORE NATO Secretary General to Party of European Socialists: crucial to sustain support to Ukraine NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated in a meeting of the Party of European Socialists (PES) on 23 March 2023, where he emphasised the importance of continuing to support Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression, both now and for the long term. READ MORE NATO Military Committee heads to JFC Brunssum as the Alliance boosts deterrence and defence on its way to multi-domain operations On 23 March 2023, the NATO Military Committee visited Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum in the Netherlands. The Allied and Invitee Military Representatives were briefed on ongoing work strands and deliverables to be presented at the Vilnius Summit in July. READ MORE NATO Deputy Secretary General emphasises importance of adopting new technologies rapidly and responsibly Today’s new technologies are developing at a dizzying pace, and we all have a role to play in developing and deploying them responsibly and ethically. This was the message Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană gave during the launch of the NATO Science and Technology Organization’s 2023-2043 Trends Report. READ MORE Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Chair of the NATO Military Committee visit NATO Mission Iraq On 20-21 March 2023, the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, and the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Christopher G. Cavoli, visited NATO Mission Iraq (NMI). They reviewed the mission’s activities and met with a range of Iraqi officials and representatives of the international community. READ MORE NATO Deputy Secretary General at the Schuman Forum: security is our shared responsibility NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană addressed the Schuman Security and Defence Forum in Brussels on 21 March 2023, underlining the importance of working with like-minded partners and organisations in defence of the rules-based international order. READ MORE NATO Deputy Secretary General: transatlantic and Middle East security are interlinked NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană delivered a virtual lecture to the Omani National Defense College on 20 March 2023, stressing that in a more interconnected world, security is more interlinked. READ MORE US Marines and Finnish Navy hone logistics skills Logistics is the art of moving supplies and people to where they need to be. Without logistics, armies wouldn’t have fuel for trucks, parts to repair them, or soldiers to drive them. It’s a military fundamental, and that’s why NATO forces regularly practise this crucial discipline with their Allies and partners. Recently, the US Marine Corps teamed up with the Finnish Navy to train in this discipline – but with a twist. The icy, island-studded waters of the Finnish archipelago are uniquely challenging to supply lines. WATCH VIDEO

NATO HQ, Blvd Leopold III
1110 Brussels, Belgium

NATO Secretary General meets with the Prime Minister of Norway The NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, met with the Prime Minister of Norway, Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre, at NATO HQ today (Friday 24 March). Click here to download the joint press conference by NATO Secretary General and the Norwegian Prime Minister. Click here for the transcript, and here for more information about his visit.

Exercise Slovak Shield 2023 Troops from NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Slovakia are participating in an exercise aimed at defending the country from attack. Soldiers from Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States participated in Slovak Shield, an annual exercise that focuses on integrating the firepower and capabilities of Allied forces in a collective defence scenario. Mechanised infantry, helicopters and ground troops worked together over the course of two weeks, sharing tactics while streamlining communications. Led by Czechia, the battlegroup includes troops from Germany, Slovakia, Slovenia and the United States. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO decided to establish four new multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, while upgrading other battlegroups into brigade-sized formations. These actions significantly bolster NATO's ability to deter and defend against any aggression in the eastern part of the Alliance. Slovak Shield 2023 runs from 12 to 24 March. Click here to download the b-roll. Footage includes Allied troops working together, sharing tactics while streamlining communications and interviews with Major General from the Slovak Armed Forces and Lieutenant Colonel from the Czech Army. NATO Secretary General welcomes multinational fleet of tanker transport NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed today (23 March 2023) the launch of a Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft fleet that is "now ready for a full range of missions" at Eindhoven Air Base in the Netherlands. The Secretary General attended a ceremony to mark the initial operational capability of the aircraft fleet, together with Dutch Minister of Defence, Kajsa Ollongren and European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton. Click here to download the remarks by the NATO Secretary General, the Dutch Minister of Defence and the European Commissioner for the Internal Market. as well as b-rolls of the Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft. Click here for the webstory and the transcript of NATO Secretary General's remarks. US Marines and Finnish Navy hone logistics skills Logistics is the art of moving supplies and people to where they need to be. Without logistics, armies wouldn’t have fuel for trucks, parts to repair them, or soldiers to drive them. It’s a military fundamental, and that’s why NATO forces regularly practise this crucial discipline with their Allies and partners. Recently, the US Marine Corps teamed up with the Finnish Navy to practise this crucial discipline – but with a twist. The icy, island-studded waters of the Finnish archipelago are uniquely challenging to supply lines. Working with the Finnish troops, the US Marines learned how to move supplies using helicopters, transport aircraft and small, stealthy boats, as well as the burly transport trucks they brought from the United States in cold weather conditions. The US Marines deployed to Finland for three months last fall – the longest stint the US military’s amphibious branch has spent in Finland to date. It signals a deepening relationship with Finland, a long-time NATO partner that applied for membership of the Alliance in 2022, together with Sweden. Deployments like this help Finland to continue familiarising itself with Allied tactics and techniques as the country prepares to join the Alliance as a full member. Click here to download the video. You can also watch the video on YouTube. Click here to download the b-roll. Footage includes shots of US Marines conducting aerial and ground logistics operations as part of Exercise Freezing Winds 22, and Finnish conscripts engaging in simulated firefights, as well as interviews with US Marine Corps and Finnish Navy officers. Dutch F-35s and Polish MiG-29s train together over Poland as part of NATO’s Air Policing mission Dutch F-35 Lightning II and Polish MiG-29 Fulcrum pilots showed off their flying skills during a demonstration over the Baltic Sea on 21 March 2023. Directed by NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Uedem, Germany, the fighters scrambled to intercept a Polish Air Force CASA C-295M transport aircraft. They performed a training interception, flying in tight formation as they shadowed the CASA C-295M transport aircraft. Along the way, French Air and Space Force Rafale fighters joined in, flying from Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, where they are currently assigned to NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission. Polish Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons also joined the sortie, demonstrating NATO’s ability to control fighter aircraft from different nations during an interception. The Royal Netherlands Air Force deployed a detachment of F-35s to Malbork Air Base in Poland on 30 January 2023 as part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission. From there, the Dutch pilots trained extensively with their NATO Allies while remaining on alert for Air Policing scrambles. Since their deployment, they have scrambled four times to intercept Russian military aircraft passing close to NATO airspace over the Baltic Sea. Allied aircraft routinely scramble to intercept aircraft that fail to communicate with air traffic controllers or broadcast a transponder code. Click here to download the b-roll. Footage includes shots of Allied jets taxiing, taking off and performing a training interception, as well as interviews with Polish Air Force Brigadier General Ireneusz Nowak and a Royal Netherlands Air Force pilot. NATO Secretary General launches his Annual Report for 2022 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday (21 March 2023) launched his annual report for 2022, covering all aspects of the Alliance’s work over the past year. Click here to download the press conference by NATO Secretary General followed by a Q&A session with journalists. Click here to read more about the NATO Secretary General's Annual Report 2022. It is available in English, French, Russian and Ukrainian. Click here to download B-ROLLS related to NATO's operations and exercises in 2022.