Opening remarks

Good morning.

Prime Minister, it is a pleasure to welcome you to NATO Headquarters today, and to discuss with you our priorities and let me take this opportunity to congratulate you on your appointment as Prime Minister. I look forward to working with you.

In NATO, every Ally’s voice counts. And every Ally makes a difference.

Iceland makes a difference within NATO, by bringing your expertise and your experience to our political discussions. And you make a difference on our operations.

You play a key role in helping to train and prepare bomb-disposal experts – saving lives in operations. And your civilian experts have provided valuable assistance in Afghanistan in areas such as health care and disaster relief. These areas are vital for development. And development is vital for security and stability.

Your engagement and your commitment will be vital as we continue to address the challenges that we all face.

We must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, building up Afghan security forces which are capable of keeping their own country safe once our combat mission is completed at the end of next year.

As our Afghan mission winds down, we must all work together to make sure that NATO stays ready to deal with any crisis, and any threat. We must make sure our forces have the right equipment, and conduct the right exercises, to do any task we set for them.

And we must make sure that NATO has what it needs to remain the most effective Alliance in the world. The ability to deal with modern threats, like cyber attacks and proliferation. And the ability to work with partners from around the globe.

In all these efforts, every single Ally is crucial. Every single Ally has a role to play. I thank you for Iceland’s contribution to our collective work and for the commitment that you have expressed for NATO’s success.

So Prime Minister, I look forward to working with you closely as we tackle these challenges together.