NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană emphasized the importance of defence innovation and ramping up defence industrial production in virtual remarks to the German Marshall Fund of the United States on Thursday (20 October 2022). “NATO is very useful in harnessing the innovation ecosystem across the Alliance,” he said, pointing to strong talent and potential from Estonia to Silicon Valley.
The Deputy Secretary General further reaffirmed NATO’s continued steadfast support to Ukraine, emphasizing, “we will be with Ukraine for the long haul.” At the meeting of NATO Defence Ministers earlier in October, Allies agreed further support for Kyiv. They also took decisions to increase Allied stockpiles of munitions and equipment, speed up the delivery of capabilities, and use the NATO Defence Planning Process to provide industry with long-term demand to boost production.
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) is non-partisan policy organization committed to the idea that the United States and Europe are stronger together. It was founded in 1972 through a gift from Germany as a tribute to the Marshall Plan. The event was moderated by the GMF’s President, Heather A. Conley, and entitled “the Future of European Security Architecture -the Path to the NATO Summit in Vilnius.”