NEWS RELEASE
15 May 2008
NATO MEMBER AND PARTNER CHIEFS
OF DEFENCE CONCLUDE MEETINGS
BRUSSELS – Top military officers of NATO and
Partner nations today concluded two days of discussions and exchanges at NATO
Headquarters on a wide range of military-related issues. This is the first of
three meetings this year for the NATO Chiefs of Defence.
More than 60 Chiefs of Defence from NATO members, non-NATO troop
contributing nations, Partnership-for-Peace nations, the Mediterranean Dialogue
countries, Ukraine, and
Russia, attended over yesterday and today,
making this the largest gathering of top-level military officers in NATOÂ’s
history. For the first time, Chiefs
of Defence from non-NATO countries contributing to NATO operations in
Afghanistan and Kosovo also participated in the
discussions, as did the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee.
“The focus of much of our
discussion was on taking forward the decisions made at the
Bucharest Summit. ” said Gen. Ray Henault, Chairman of NATO’s
Military Committee, and NATO’s top military officer. “I
was particularly pleased to have so many representatives from non-NATO countries
who contribute to our operations, and General Henri Bentégeat, my counterpart at
the European Union Military Committee.
This underscores just how important our partners from the international
community are to what we do in the Afghan and Kosovo theatres, and is tangible
evidence of a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to our operations.”
“The International Security
Assistance Force in Afghanistan now comprises 40 countries with close to
50,000 troops, and more forces continue to be made available. It remains the
AllianceÂ’s top operational priority and a NATO
commitment for the long term,” said Henault. “On Kosovo, the Chiefs of Defence expressed
their satisfaction at the current force levels in place, and the arrangements
for additional Reserve Forces should the situation on the ground require. We
also acknowledged the good working relations we have in this respect with the
Serbian military, including their Chief of
Defence.”
Apart from
operations, the NATO officers addressed military applications of the NATO
enlargement decisions at the Bucharest Summit, how to improve the mechanisms for
funding operations and capabilities, and the review of NATOÂ’s command and
control structure. The importance of effective cyber-defence was highlighted by
yesterdayÂ’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding that formalizes the
establishment of a NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, in
Estonia.
Discussions with Mediterranean Dialogue nations focused on the progress
of NATOÂ’s counter-terrorist operation Active Endeavour in the Mediterranean
region, and the development of cooperation programmes as an aid to improving
interoperability of forces.
The Ukrainian Chief
of Defence updated colleagues on the current status of the transformation of the
Ukraine armed forces. The meeting was also
briefed on the mid-year assessment of the 2008 NATO-Ukraine Work Plan. General
Henault congratulated Ukraine on its progress and commented that,
“Military cooperation in many areas is
clear proof of well-developed military relations that will contribute to the
further development of the NATO-Ukraine distinctive
partnership.”
Russian Chief of Defence
Gen. Baluyevskyi and his NATO
colleagues approved the status paper on the NATO-Russia work plan for this year,
and the status report on the NRC action plan on terrorism, and looked ahead to
other opportunities for joint exercises and training.
This was the last of the formal Chiefs of Defence meetings chaired by
Canadian Gen. Ray Henault, who will retire at the end of June 2008 after a
40-year career, and at the conclusion of a three-year tenure as Chairman of
NATOÂ’s Military Committee.