At the Madrid Summit on Wednesday (29 June 2022), Allied leaders were joined by some of NATO’s closest partners to address global challenges. Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the Republic of Korea participated in a NATO Summit for the first time. The European Union and Georgia also took part in the meeting, as did Finland and Sweden, who have today been invited to become NATO members.
The Secretary General said that NATO must stand with its partners around the world to preserve the rules-based international order in era of strategic competition: “We see a deepening strategic partnership between Moscow and Beijing. And China’s growing assertiveness and its coercive policies have consequences for the security of Allies and our partners.”