Close
Back
Download NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Log in
No account?
Forgot your password?
NATO MULTIMEDIA ACCOUNT
Access NATO’s broadcast-quality video content free of charge
Create an account
Check your inbox and enter verification code
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
You have successfully created your account
From now on you can download videos from our website
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would also like to subscribe to the newsletter and receive our latest updates, click on the button below.
Reset password
Enter the email address you registered with and we will send you a code to reset your password.
Reset password
We have sent a verification code to your email address.
Enter the code to verify your account. This code will expire in 30 minutes.
Create a new password
The password must be at least 12 characters long, no spaces, include upper/lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.
Your password has been updated
Click the button to return to the page you were on and log in with your new password.
Ministers, Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
Let me start by thanking, on behalf of all the participants, our host Peter Struck for his initiative and generosity in hosting this important meeting at such a busy time here in Germany.
Allow me now to say a few words in German.
Lieber Peter, dieses Treffen heute hat besondere Bedeutung, denn in diesem Jahr feiern wir das fünfzigjährige Jubiläum der NATO-Mitgliedschaft Deutschlands und der Bundeswehr. Die Bundesrepublik Deutschlands ist stets ein beispielhafter Alliierter gewesen, gerade in diesem Jahr gilt es dies zu betonen. Die NATO hat Deutschland zu danken, und Deutschland hat der NATO, und der Solidarität seiner Verbündeten, manches zu verdanken.
Let me also say how pleased we all are to see Don Rumsfeld here with us today. Don, we want you to know that your country has both the sympathy and the active support of all Allies and we are grateful to you for joining us at such a challenging time in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
I am looking forward to a lively political debate today about the military transformation of our NATO Alliance. In the last 10 to 15 years the Alliance has changed dramatically, and our armed forces have begun to change with it, as we respond to the challenges and opportunities of the new security environment. I want to continue this work. In order to do so we need to be clear about what we want our Alliance to be able to do militarily in the future.
To this end, we should work today towards a common political understanding of what a transformed Alliance should be capable of doing in 10 to 15 years time. This will, in turn, provide very clear guidance to our Military planners as they prepare our militaries for the future.
A plus brève échéance, il nous faudra également déterminer si nous sommes en bonne voie pour achever la mise en oeuvre de la Force de réaction de l’OTAN dans les 12 mois à venir.
Demain, nous examinerons toute une série de questions essentielles concernant les opérations et les missions que mène actuellement l’OTAN en Afghanistan, en Iraq, au Kosovo et au Darfour. Nous procéderons également à un examen de la contribution de l’OTAN à la lutte contre le terrorisme, après les terribles attaques perpétrées récemment à Londres, en Turquie et ailleurs.
Demain après-midi, nous rencontrerons notre collègue russe, M. Sergueï Borissovitch Ivanov, pour une réunion informelle du Conseil OTAN-Russie.
Ce sera là pour nous une occasion appréciable d’avoir un échange de vues sur le développement de la coopération OTAN-Russie dans le domaine de la défense, sur les questions opérationnelles et sur d’autres problèmes d’actualité liés à la sécurité internationale, notamment en ce qui concerne l’Afghanistan. Nous ferons également le point sur les efforts communs que nous avons déployés dans la lutte contre le terrorisme.
Let me now turn to our host for his introductory remarks. Minister Struck, the floor is yours.