North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
January 20, 2014
SACEUR TO DISCUSS AFGHAN TRANSITION, PARTNERSHIPS AT NATO CHIEFS OF DEFENCE MEETING
This week Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Philip Breedlove, will attend the 170th NATO Chiefs of Defence Meeting to be held at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. The Military Committee, NATO’s highest military authority will meet on Wednesday and Thursday, 22-23 January 2014. Chairman of the Military Committee, General Knud Bartels will be chairing a series of meetings with NATO Allies and Partners.
General Breedlove says “I’m looking forward to NATO’s 170th Chief of Defence meeting, and our first for 2014. Areas of emphasis will include discussion on the way ahead for NATO cooperation activities with Russia, transition in Afghanistan and the mission in KFOR.”
Meetings kick off on Wednesday with partners from the Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) and the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council (EAPC) on how to further develop practical cooperation. Key speakers include General Mashal Al Zaben, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces, who will offer his views on the current security situation and challenges in the MD region. Army General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, will attend the NATO Russia Council with Military Representatives (NRC-MR), sharing his views on military-to-military cooperation. The Chiefs of Defence are expected to approve the 2014 NRC-MR Work Plan, which will launch this year’s activities.
Furthermore, the NATO and Partners’ Chiefs of Defence will review the current operation in Afghanistan and discuss plans for the future mission, Resolute Support. Discussions will be triggered by situational updates from General Breedlove, Supreme Allied Command Europe, General Joseph F. Dunford, Commander of the ISAF Operation as well as Ambassador Maurits Jochems, NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative in the country.
At the meeting with KFOR partners, the Chiefs of Defence will receive a political and operational overview on the security situation in Kosovo, which will form a basis for discussion on NATO’s future presence in Kosovo.
On Thursday, meetings will focus on NATO Transformation and in particular on activities that support the delivery of ready, relevant and effective NATO military capabilities. General Jean-Paul Paloméros, Supreme Allied Commander, Transformation, will offer his thoughts on Exercise Trident Juncture 2015 – a large scale exercise to be conducted in 2015, which will emphasise NATO’s focus on operational readiness – and wider aspects related to the Connected Forces Initiatives. A presentation by General Patrick de Rousiers, the Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, on the outcomes and implementations following the recent EU Defence Summit, will conclude the debates on Smart Defence.
The aim throughout the two days will be to analyse the key military deliverables for the forthcoming series of NATO Ministerial meetings and the subsequent NATO Summit to be held in Wales in 2014.
Story by SHAPE Public Affairs Office
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