NATO HQ 12 June 2003

Opening statement by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson at the Meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers session Welcome to this meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Defence Ministers session. I am particularly pleased to have with us today two Ministers who have not been in this session before, Minister Vecdi Gonul of Turkey, who has been with us quite some time but this is the first NAC-D and our newest NATO colleague Minister Kostelka of the Czech Republic. We are pleased to have you with us and look forward to working with you. A special word of welcome also to General James Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, who is attending his first meeting of this kind. Before turning to the agenda, let me say a few words by way of general introduction. The presence of Invitee Defence Ministers here today is in itself testimony to NATO’s deep and continuing adaptation to 21st century threats as well as the opportunities that lie ahead. This is a new NATO. A NATO transformed in Prague Summit. A NATO able to meet its commitments when times get tough, from the Straits of Gibraltar through the Balkans to southern Turkey. A NATO now preparing to take on a demanding stabilisation mission in the Afghan capital. In short, a NATO transforming its membership, its relationships, its capabilities and its missions. This, I emphasize is real change, not rhetoric. At Prague, we launched a three-pronged strategy to modernise fundamentally our Alliance capabilities: the Prague Capabilities Commitment, the NATO Response Force and the Command Structure Review. And today, we will review the progress achieved to date and provide guidance on the next stages of this transformation, which is so critical to preparing the Alliance for 21st century operations. I am personally extremely gratified by the considerable progress that I know has already been achieved, both in NATO capitals and here at NATO. Clearly more needs to be done. Yet my mantra of “capabilities, capabilities, capabilities” is no longer a solo effort, but a harmony of 19 nations meeting their commitments and delivering substantial capability improvements. Together, the Prague Capabilities Commitment, the NATO Response Force and the Command Structure Review represent a systematic re-tooling of NATO. They profoundly re-shape the Alliance’s military structures and greatly enhance its military capabilities. These improvements in our capabilities are critical because of NATO’s increasing operational responsibilities. We have recently ended the deployment of surveillance aircraft, missile defence systems and nuclear, biological and chemical protection units to Turkey. We continue to conduct extensive anti-terrorism maritime operations in the Mediterranean. We remain decisively engaged in the Balkans. From August, NATO will take the leading role in the International Security Assistance Force in Kabul, Afghanistan. And last week, NATO agreed to Poland’s request for Alliance support in the role that it is taking on this summer in the stabilisation of Iraq. All of these commitments demonstrate the new NATO’s readiness and ability to take on far-reaching international responsibilities in support of peace and stability. So we clearly have a full agenda before us today, and I recommend we start without further delay.