NATO Chiefs of Defence meet in Norway for Annual Conference

The NATO and Invitee Chiefs of Defence will take forward the decisions taken by the Allied Heads of State and Government at the Vilnius Summit in July 2023. In Vilnius, NATO leaders took major steps to strengthen NATO’s defence and deterrence for the long term, across all domains and against all threats and challenges.

Key to this are the Regional Plans – geographically specific plans – that are designed to deter and defend against the two threats described in the Strategic Concept and the NATO Military Strategy: Russia and terrorist groups. This is part of NATO’s evolution from an Alliance optimised for out-of-area contingency operations to an Alliance fit for the purpose of large-scale operations to defend every inch of allied territory.

In Oslo, the Chiefs of Defence will address how to make these plans fully executable, including with:

• More troops on higher readiness;
• Capability building and development;
• Adaptation of NATO’s command and control structures;
• More enablement (logistics, host nation support, maintenance, replenishment and prepositioning of stocks, military mobility);
• More collective defence training and exercising.

The Military Committee meets in Chiefs of Defence Session twice a year at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, and once a year a Conference is held by an Allied member state. The Military Committee convenes to discuss NATO operations, missions and activities and to provide the North Atlantic Council with unfettered, consensus-based military advice on how the Alliance can best address global security challenges. On a day-to-day basis, its work is carried out by the permanent Military Representatives at the NATO Headquarters in Brussels.
 

Media Opportunities

Saturday 16 Sep 2023

08:00 (CEST)        Opening Remarks (Livestreamed)

17:15 (CEST)        Joint Press Conference (Media present - livestreamed) with the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer and the Norwegian Chief of Defence, General Eirik Kristoffersen

Note: Media interested in physically attending the press conference are advised to submit registration forms before Monday 11 September 2023. (download form docx)
 

Imagery

Following each event, photos, video and audio files will be made available on the NATO IMS webpage www.nato.int/ims, as well as on the MC Conference event page https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/events_218100.htm
 

Social Media

We will post the latest information and photos from the Conference on our official X account: @NATO_PASCAD. The Chair of the NATO Military Committee will be using his own account @CMC_NATO.

The Norwegian Armed Forces will also post updates from the conference on their official X account: @forsvaret_no.

Please use the hashtags #NATOMC and #NATOCHoDs when tweeting about the NATO Military Committee Conference.
 

Media Enquiries

Staffsergeant Aleksander Engborg Hage, Spokesperson Norwegian Armed Forces
Tel: +47 93 63 01 11
E-mail: Aleksander-Engborg.Hage@fd.dep.no

Lieutenant colonel Stine Barclay Gaasland, Spokesperson Norwegian Armed Forces
Tel: +47 957 41 532
E-mail: stine-barclay.gaasland@fd.dep.no

Ms Eleonora Russell, Public Affairs and Strategic Communications Advisor to the NATO Military Committee and International Military Staff
Tel: + 32 471 61 09 55
E-Mail: russell.eleonora@hq.nato.int

Commander Grzegorz Lyko, Deputy Public Affairs and Strategic Communications Advisor to the NATO Military Committee and International Military Staff
Tel: + 32 477 570 746
E-Mail: lyko.grzegorz@hq.nato.int

For more background information about the NATO Military Committee visit https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_49633.htm