Opening remarks
by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Foreign Ministers session with Indo-Pacific partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea
(As delivered)
Good afternoon.
And today, we welcome to the table our four Indo-Pacific partners, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand.
It’s important that NATO has such good friends and strong partners.
Because the security of the Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific region is more connected than ever.
The war in Ukraine has shown that.
With China and North Korea, along with Iran, supporting Russia’s war machine.
As global competition intensifies, we will continue to strengthen our Indo-Pacific partnerships.
Our meeting now is a great opportunity to explore how we can work more closely together, including on defence industrial cooperation.
So I very much look forward to our discussions, and I want to thank the media for joining us. And in the spirit of democracy, could you please leave the room. Thank you.