Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană stressed the importance of strengthening societal and institutional resilience and safeguarding democratic values in opening remarks delivered at the NATO 2022 Building Integrity Conference on Thursday (08 December 2022).
The Deputy Secretary General stated that corruption and weak governance present serious security challenges, as they undermine democracy, the rule of law and economic development. He emphasised the importance of protecting, promoting and strengthening our democratic institutions, saying: “This means ensuring they remain accountable and trustworthy to our citizens, and also more resilient to mounting pressure.” Mr Geoană also highlighted the value of sharing lessons and exchanging good practices to strengthen governance between Allies, partners, international organisations, the private sector and academia.
The conference marks the fifteenth anniversary of NATO Building Integrity, which was established in November 2007 by the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council. Today, this work supports Allies, partner countries and NATO as an organisation to promote good governance and implement the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in the defence and security sector.