30 Oct. 2006

NATO Secretary General visits Czech Republic News 27/10/2006 - NATO NATO Secretary General to visit Czech Republic Opinions 30/10/2006 - Czech Rep Press conference with the NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mirek Topolánek Continuing the political preparations for NATO’s upcoming Summit in Riga, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Prague on 30 October. Mr. De Hoop Scheffer met with President Václav Klaus, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, Foreign Minister Alexandr Vondra, Defence Minister Jiří Šedivý, as well as the Speaker of the Senate Přemysl Sobotka and other parliamentarians. Need for more spending The meetings focused on the key issues on the Riga agenda as well as NATO’s Afghanistan mission. The Secretary General strongly encouraged the government to increase its defence expenditures to reach the agreed NATO defence spending target of 2% of GDP. Mr. De Hoop Scheffer also participated in a special question and answer session at the Czech Senate, with diplomats and experts taking part.  The Secretary General briefed and answered questions on the Alliance’s current agenda.