Remarks

by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
at the cultural event at the National museum

JAAP DE HOOP SCHEFFER (Secretary General, NATO): Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Minister, (speaking in foreign language)..., dear Minister Sikorski, dear Radek, (speaking in foreign language), we are very happy to be here and that's for several reasons.

First of all because we are in hospitable Poland, we are in Krakow. Ministers meet, spouses see much more of beautiful Krakow than we do, but that's the division of labour we have agreed upon, more or less. But when I mention the spouses, I want to thank you for your hospitality and that very much includes our spouses. I always say a happy spouse, a happy Minister, so it increases the quality of the meetings at the same time.

We are in Poland; Prime Minister, you said it yourself, a staunch ally. An ally indeed celebrating in a few weeks' time 10 years of membership in NATO. And if you want to know what a staunch ally mean... what I mean with staunch ally Poland, I would advise you and it's not so easy to follow this advice: go to Ghazni, go to Afghanistan. Go to Ghazni and you'll see the Polish contingent there. I hope to go there soon. But the Prime Minister was there and you see what Poland and what Polish Armed Forces are doing for and in Afghanistan and what they're doing - upholding the values of our Alliance.

Prime Minister you mentioned values. I'm still of the opinion that the values NATO has always defended since its start in 1949 - NATO almost 60  years of age - those same values we are defending at the Hindu Kush. There is no difference. And that is why it's important that at this very moment 41 NATO nations and Partners - let me greet the partners very specifically here tonight - are in that coalition in Afghanistan to defend our values and to support the Afghan people. And I mentioned the Partners because this afternoon we had a very interesting meeting with our Partners, without whom I think we would have an even more tough time in Afghanistan than with their support, which we also very much appreciate.

NATO cannot rest on its laurels. Somebody told me once that if you rest on your laurels you're wearing them in the wrong place. So let's not do it. And let's work to the NATO summit in Strasbourg and Kehl in a few weeks time. Let us not only celebrate. We can celebrate; all right,  60 years, that's important. Sixty years in defence of values. But let us also try to find the answers to the new challenges, Prime Minister, you mentioned so eloquently in your speech, NATO is facing. And aligning again that this is a unique alliance, an alliance which realizes that the values we defend and we stand for will always have to be defended every day and every hour.

And who am I as a Dutchman, born in affluence in the Netherlands on the right side of the then Iron Curtain, who am I to explain to Poles and to Poland what it means to fight for your values and to fight for your ideals? In sum, Prime Minister, we are extremely happy to be here. I thank you for your hospitality. I thank you on behalf of Jeanine, my wife, for a wonderful spouses' program, first part today, next part tomorrow and we're very happy that in a relaxed atmosphere we can enjoy this evening. Many, many thanks. We're glad to be here and applause for our Polish hosts and for Poland. Thank you very much.