North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Allied Command Operations
June 19, 2014
JFC BRUNSSUM COMMANDER GIVES KEY NOTE ADDRESS AT STRATEGIC MILITARY PARTNERS CONFERENCE
The Strategic Military Partners Conference (SMPC) is an annual event that enables Chiefs of Defence (CHODs) of NATO and Partner nations to share their perspectives on strategic issues of common interest. As such, it is a core event within Supreme Allied Commander Transformation’s (SACT) Strategic Engagement Campaign. Its target audience consists of CHODs of NATO, Partnership for Peace (PfP) nations, Mediterranean Dialogue (MD) nations, Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI) nations and Partners across the Globe (PatG) nations, and informs them about NATO’s transformational efforts.
By creating a common understanding amongst a wide array of partners and members of the Alliance alike, the intent of SMPC is to facilitate the exchange of ideas regarding transformation throughout the trans-Atlantic community.
The President of Bulgaria, His Excellency Mr. Rosen Plevneliev, welcomed the participants to the conference, which was held in Sofia on Wednesday, 18 June 2014, and emphasized that the security landscape has changed substantially and, as a consequence, cooperative security is more important than ever before.
The Bulgarian Chief of Defence, General Simeon Simeonov, also welcomed the participants, thanked them for travelling to Sofia, and highlighted the Bulgarian Armed Forces’ commitment to NATO.
Following a video message from the NATO Deputy Secretary General and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation’s Key Note address on Interoperability, Capacity Building and the military value of Partnerships, Commander Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum took the floor.
On SACT’s request, General Hans-Lothar Domröse gave a Key Note Address entitled ‘NATO and Partners’ Common Interests: Cooperation and Capacity Building’. During the Address, General Domröse echoed the words of the Bulgarian President as he also emphasized that Cooperative Security, as one of NATO’s Core tasks, is more important than ever due to the changing security landscape in Europe and worldwide.
General Domröse also presented the achievements of the International Community and NATO in Afghanistan and, in addition, provided his assessment of the NATO Response Force’s potential and constraints. He underlined that interoperability could only be enhanced by working/training together and invited all partners to provide forces and other capabilities in order to train together during Exercise Trident Juncture 2015.
General Domröse concluded that, on NATO’s military operational level, cooperation and capacity building with partners is on track, but requires sustained and strong support of the nations to fully optimize.
Story by JFC Brunssum Public Affairs Office
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