Opening remarks

Ladies and Gentlemen good morning. I would like to welcome the Chiefs of Defence and the Strategic Commanders of NATO to the 2015 Military Committee Conference.

May I begin, on behalf of us all, by expressing my thanks to our hosts, and to welcome the new Commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, General Hulusi Akar. Thank you for your generous hospitality and excellent organisation. Your sponsorship of this Conference once again highlights Turkey’s strong support of the Alliance.

I would also like to welcome our other new colleague General John Vance, the Canadian Chief of Defence, we wish you both the very best in your new and challenging appointments. J’adresse enfin mon dernier mot de bienvenue au Général Denis Mercier, qui se joint à nous un peu avant sa prise de fonction pour le poste de Commandant suprême allié Tranformation. La cérémonie aura lieu à Norfolk le 30 septembre, mais nous te souhaitons dés à présent le meilleur dans cette future responsabilité.

Last year the Conference was held in Vilnius, just after the Wales Summit, as the conflict in Eastern Ukraine continued to escalate. Today the growing security challenges facing NATO’s southern flank will be at the heart of our discussions today. Therefore, I cannot think of a better location than Istanbul for this Conference to take place.

Before I hand over to our host to formally open the meeting, I would like us to pay tribute to the continued commitment of our military personnel and to remember the sacrifice of those men and women killed or wounded in the line of duty.

[ALL stand for a Minute of silence]

Thank you.

Turkey is a long-standing and steadfast member of the Alliance. Her continued participation in NATO-led operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo and on the High Seas demonstrate Turkey’s commitment to the principles that bind this Alliance together.

Hulusi, I would congratulate you on your country’s active role within the Alliance. I will now hand you the floor to officially open this Conference.

[Turkish CHOD Address]

Thank you, Hulusi.

Allow me, in the presence of the media, to make some opening remarks on the work we have before us today and our intended outcomes.

The annual NATO Chiefs of Defence Conference is an opportunity to discuss some of the most challenging issues facing the Alliance. Our ability to reconcile a broad spectrum of perspectives, and forge a consensus across 28 Nations, is a reflection of the strength and solidarity within the Alliance.

We will begin our Conference with a regional security assessment given by our Turkish hosts. Our first working session is then dedicated to the Readiness Action Plan. Which was agreed by our Heads of State and Government in Wales last year and will be fully implemented by the Warsaw Summit next summer.

The RAP adapts the Military Strategic posture of the Alliance by enhancing our readiness and responsiveness to counter the security challenges we face. We will discuss further enhancements to the NATO Response Force and to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force in particular.

In our second session we will look beyond the Readiness Action Plan and discuss a Military Perspective on NATO’s Future Strategy, Posture and Adaptation. This will form the basis of the Chiefs of Defence Contribution to the Warsaw Summit.

In our third working session we will be joined by the Commander of the RESOLUTE SUPPORT, General John Campbell, by VTC from Kabul. He will brief on this Train, Advise and Assist mission, which very much remains the operational priority of the Alliance. We will also discuss the military elements of enhanced an enhanced Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan which will follow on from the current mission after 2016.

The subsequent session is a comprehensive discussion on the political and military situation in Western Balkans. Our Greek colleague General Mikhail Kostarakos will guide us through the current challenges facing the region. We will develop recommendations on NATO future engagement in the Western Balkans.

Our final session of the Conference will be a series of discussions and decisions on topics of a more organisational or informative nature. The CHODs will also elect the next Director of the NATO International Military Staff who will take over from Air Marshal Sir Christopher Harper in the summer of 2016.

In each of our sessions we will be supported by our Strategic Commanders; SACEUR, General Philip Breedlove, and SACT, General Jean-Paul Palomeros, who will provide the detailed military strategic assessments on the issues we will discuss.

Our deliberations today will provide our militaries with the direction and guidance to prepare for the future security challenges likely to face the Alliance. Our discussions and conclusions from the Conference will also inform the political deliberations of our Ministers in the run up to the Warsaw Summit in summer 2016.

With that I would like to thank the media for their presence and for attending our opening session, and kindly request that they now depart so that we can commence with our proceedings.

Thank you.