NATO Secretary General: Poland makes major contributions to our shared security

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Poland’s strong commitment to the Alliance during a visit by President Andrzej Duda to NATO Headquarters on Tuesday (4 June 2019). The two leaders discussed the current security environment and preparations for the Summit of NATO leaders in London this December.

The Secretary General thanked Poland for its contributions to NATO’s forward presence in Latvia and Romania, its participation in NATO air policing and for its forces deployed in the Alliance’s training missions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Mr. Stoltenberg also thanked Poland for leading by example on defence spending by investing two percent of GDP on defence of which more than twenty percent is devoted to major new capabilities.

The Secretary General highlighted NATO’s strong presence in Poland, which includes key facilities and a multinational battlegroup. Mr. Stoltenberg noted that NATO recently agreed to invest $260 million in a major project to store and maintain US military equipment pre-positioned in Poland. He also welcomed that Poland regularly hosts training and exercises, including Exercise Noble Jump which is currently testing the deployment of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force: “All of this shows that Poland is strongly committed to NATO and that NATO is strongly committed to Poland’s security. This is important as we continue to adapt to the most unpredictable security environment in a generation.”