NATO Deputy Secretary General addresses COVID-19 response with Atlantic Council
NATO Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoană, explained how NATO is supporting Allies in the fight against COVID-19 during an online event held by the Atlantic Council with the NATO Public Diplomacy Division today (16 April 2020). Speaking at the event by video conference, he said, “Our DNA is crisis management, command and control, efficiency and logistics, and putting together in critical moments the pieces that can make an alliance work in times of distress.”
Ambassador Geoană said that NATO was created to deal with crises and that we are playing our part in tackling this crisis. NATO aircraft have flown over a hundred missions transporting hundreds of tons of vital medical equipment from across the world to where they are needed most. Allied armed forces have provided 25 field hospitals, more than 4,000 medical personnel and over 25,000 treatment beds.
The Deputy Secretary General emphasized that NATO continues to maintain a strong deterrence and defence to ensure the health crisis does not become a security crisis. As well as maintaining operational readiness, NATO is paying particular attention to countering the rise in COVID-19 related disinformation. NATO Allies are countering propaganda with facts and concrete action.
Ambassador Geoană also stressed the importance of NATO engaging with industry, academia, and think tanks like the Atlantic Council in order to improve resilience and learn lessons for the future.