Chairman of the NATO Military Committee thanks Germany for its leading role in international security and stability
The Chairman of the NATO Military Committee General Petr Pavel visited Germany on 8-9 December 2016, where he met with Chief of Defence, General Volker Wieker, the Ministry of Defence Director-General for Strategy and Operation, Lieutenant General Dieter Warnecke and other high level political and military officials.
During his visit, the Chairman of the NATO military Committee, General Petr Pavel met with the German Chief of Defence, General Volker Wieker to discuss the serious security challenges that have morphed our security environment. The Chairman commended Germany’s defence spending increase of almost 2.5 billion euros since 2014, “reinforcing Germany’s determination to contribute to international stability by further engaging in NATO, the European Union and the United Nations”.
The Generals discussed NATO’s progress in implementing the decisions taken at the Warsaw Summit and more particularly Germany’s role in NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence as leader of one of the four battalions that NATO will soon rotate through the Baltic States and Poland. General Pavel also thanked Germany for its “outstanding contributions to the Alliance’s missions and operations, with major deployments in Afghanistan. This includes sending planes for Baltic Air Policing, playing a leading role in NATO’s high-readiness Spearhead Force, and providing the flagship for the Alliance’s naval presence in the Aegean Sea”.
General Petr Pavel also met with Director-General for Strategy and Operation, Lieutenant General Dieter Warnecke and Director-General for Foreign, Security and Development Policy in the Federal Chancellery, Dr. Christoph Heusgen to discuss Afghanistan, the Aegean Activity and NATO’s overall posture towards Russia.
While in Berlin, General Pavel had a series of meetings with Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Jürgen zur Mühlen, Deputy Chief of Security Policy Division; Dr. Fritz Felgentreu, representative of the Defence Committee of the German Bundestag and the German Institute for International and Security.
Following the Welcome Ceremony, General Pavel took the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Bundeswehr Memorial, paying tribute to “the sacrifice and courage of the men and women who have paid the ultimate price for to our peace and security”.