NATO Secretary General J. Stoltenberg appreciates Slovakia's increased defence spend and active engagement in international crisis management

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appreciates Slovakia's increased investment in defence, active engagement in the Alliance's collective defence activities, and deployments on international crisis management missions and operations. Secretary General Stoltenberg confirmed this at today's meeting with Prime Minister Eduard Heger and Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď in Brussels.

On the content of the meeting, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “It was a very constructive discussion on the common topical issues and priorities of Slovakia and the North Atlantic Alliance in the field of security and defence. In light of the rapidly changing security landscape, at NATO the Prime Minister and I reconfirmed Slovakia's clear foreign policy direction, the indisputability of our bond and pledges, and support for our common values.”

A step-change in the SVK MOD's Armed Forces modernisation was high on the agenda of the meeting. In this context, Defence Minister Naď provided an update to Secretary General Stoltenberg on the ongoing modernisation programmes, including on the procurement of 3D Air Defence (AD) Radar Systems, the market research on tracked armoured fighting vehicles to replace the in-service tracked IFV fleet, and the Wheeled Infantry Fighting Vehicle Programme. Minister Naď presented the measures to improve working conditions for service and civilian personnel in Defence.

There was also a space to discuss preparations for the upcoming NATO Summit at NATO HQ in Brussels on 14 June 2021. And the related assessment of challenges that the Alliances must deal with in the current security environment. Considerable attention was paid to this theme, because the NATO Summit will open debate on the preparation of the new NATO Strategic Concept.

Also addressed were the priorities on the forward-looking NATO 2030 agenda as well as the opportunities for Slovakia to get involved in Allied programmes along with their benefits. In addition to meeting the Secretary General, Minister Naď also met with members of the SVK Permanent Delegation to NATO to talk about foreign policy and defence issues, including rises in the defence budget, purchases via NSPA, the MOD's historically highest investment in military infrastructure, and the significant replacement of military equipment and Armed Forces modernisation.

Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer joined Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď in visiting NATO HQ, where he held talks with NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges David van Weel. Mr Majer said: “We agreed that the “new wave” of defence challenges stemming from technological and information advances completely changes our perception of security and stability in the transatlantic area. It pleases me to see that the Alliance is adapting to the new security landscape in each and every area, even to the ones which, from its perspective, may be less conventional. On this issue, Slovakia is prepared to be a responsible and beneficial ally.”