Remarks by Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller

Thank you very much.  Good morning and a warm welcome from me to everyone here today for this signing ceremony.  It’s a signing ceremony that really underscores our multinational cooperation on air-to-ground precision guided munitions.

This initiative was first launched in the margins of the Wales Summit in 2014 by Denmark, the lead nation.  Also involved at that time were the Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, Portugal and Spain.

It sought to address a problem encountered during the Libya air operation, when some Allies ran out of their own stockpiles of munitions, they found it incredibly difficult to use those of other air forces.

This initiative was spurred by a desire for a new flexible approach to the provision of air-to-ground precision-guided munitions.

Since 2014, the original group has been joined by Belgium, the Netherlands and Poland.  Today, we welcome Hungary, the United Kingdom and Finland, the first partner country to take part in this initiative.

The first delivery of munitions is due next year.  This demonstrates once again the foresight of Allies willing to work together and invest together in the critical capabilities that the Alliance needs.

This multinational and cooperative approach helps Allies to strengthen their armed forces in a cost effective way.

So congratulations to all of you and I will now hand the floor over to Danish Defence Minister, Claus Hjort Frederiksen.  Minister, you have the floor.