Today (9 December 2021), NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg participated virtually in the Bucharest Forum, organised by the Aspen Institute Romania, on the occasion of the Forum’s tenth and the Institute’s fifteenth anniversaries.
Pointing to the unpredictable security environment, the Secretary General underlined that “we must deal with this new reality and the best way to do that is together, Europe and North America, together in NATO”. Strengthening NATO “as the indispensable forum to consult, decide and, when necessary, act on all issues that affect our security” was at the core of the decisions taken at the Brussels Summit in June, added the Secretary General. “We agreed NATO 2030 – an ambitious agenda for our future security, to keep our people safe in this more unpredictable world … We decided to sharpen our technological edge… address the impact of climate change on our security…make our societies stronger” said the Secretary General. He further stressed NATO’s key role to defend the international rules-based order, including through enhanced cooperation with like-minded nations and organisations around the world.
NATO’s next Strategic Concept, to be approved at the 2022 Summit in Madrid, will “chart a way ahead for the Alliance.. and reaffirm the centrality of the transatlantic bond to our security and defence” concluded the Secretary General. Read the Secretary General’s speech here.
On the eve of the Bucharest Forum, Mr. Stoltenberg was awarded the “Mihnea Constantinescu” Values Based Leadership Award. The award is presented each year to a public leader or national organization that has excelled in his/ her/ its field of activity, by constantly supporting and promoting national and universal values. The Secretary General’s acceptance speech can be read here.