Short remarks

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg:
It’s great to see you Prime Minister Trudeau, dear Justin, and welcome back to the NATO Headquarters. We will have a very important Summit today, where we will open a new chapter in the transatlantic relationship, and Canada has been so supportive to NATO over so many years, and your personal leadership and your personal commitment is something I really appreciate. And at the Summit today we will once again demonstrate the strength of the bond between North America and Europe. The importance to work together, and also agree the forward-looking ambitious agenda, NATO 2030, which is about how to reinforce our collective defence, invest in technology and resilience, and also climate change, which for now for the first time will be an important task for NATO, the security consequences of climate change, and thank you so much to Canada for offering to host the NATO Center of Excellence on climate change. Then also thank you for the many ways that Canada is supporting our lives, leading the battle group in Latvia, participating in different NATO missions and operations including our training mission in Iraq, and also air policing, so it just demonstrates that Canada is really a highly valued and important Ally. You lead on many topics including on human security, women, peace and security, and also thank you so much for your personal engagement on those issues. We have a unique opportunity to reopen a new chapter in the transatlantic relationship with the Summit today, and you are part of that, so welcome. Justin, it’s good to see you.

Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau:
Thank you Jens, it is always such a pleasure to sit down with you and thank you personally for all your leadership, it's been an interesting past few years for NATO but we gather now at a moment where we are more united than ever, and it is more important than ever that we be united. As we've come through this COVID crisis, the understanding that leaders and citizens have of the need for cooperation, the need for collaboration, the need for nations to stand together to prepare for and combat various crises that are coming at us. Yes, COVID was the reality for the past year, but climate change continues to be an issue which is why we are offering to step up on the Center of Excellence, but there's also a realignment around the world in geopolitics, that is, that is something that should be of concern to everyone. And certainly, NATO has continued to stand strong against Russian misbehavior and interference in various places. But I think, as you pointed out, Russia is worse now in terms of its engagement with NATO countries, and more disruptive than it has been in decades, and that's where we need to come together, but as we come together, we're talking not just about Russia, we're talking about a rise of authoritarianism around the world that is increasingly competing and challenging NATO states, which we need to be aligned on, and I know this afternoon, and the reflections we're having on where NATO is going until 2030 is going to reflect on the need to not just protect our values for our citizens and the rules based order is established, but demonstrate too that partners and friends and non-aligned countries around the world, that there is an alternative to the rise of authoritarianism and the strong-arm tactics that countries including China, are taking so this is an opportunity like we had at the G7, to really not just reaffirm our commitments to nice and strong principles, but to actually talk about how we deliver them not just for ourselves but for countries around the world, and throughout these past years and into the coming years, your leadership Jens is one that we are extraordinarily grateful to have.

[04 :30] French translation
Thank you so much my friend.