20 March 2002

The upcoming Prague Summit With NATO's upcoming Summit approaching rapidly, NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, travelled to the host city of Prague on 20-21 March to meet with President Vaclav Havel, Prime Minister Milos Zeman and other high-level politicians. As well as holding meetings and visiting the Summit venues, Lord Robertson also gave a speech at the Charles University, Prague, on "NATO in the 21st century", in which he stated that "The Prague Summit, [...], will be a Summit of NATO's redefinition - of its comprehensive external and internal adaptation". He then identified the main elements of this adaptation as being enlargement, NATO's partnership initiatives, relations with Russia, terrorism and the need to adapt military capabilities to new threats: "NATO's agenda at Prague runs from spreading stability through our continent, building new bridges with Russia, helping to beat terrorism and giving European countries the ability to play a bigger military role in the transatlantic partnership." This is the first time that a new Allied member state in Central and Eastern Europe is hosting a NATO Summit. Summits are defining moments in the evolution of the Alliance, often leading to fundamental transformation and new thinking. More information on the subject can be found in the following document: "The origins of the NAC and the role of Summit meetings in NATO's history". Additional information: "NATO in the 21st Century" - Speech by NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson at the Charles University in Prague Fact Sheet : "The origins of the NAC and the role of Summit meetings in NATO's history" Previous Summits & Ministerial Meetings