Secretary General: Australia is one of NATO’s closest partners
On Tuesday (24 April 2018) NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, discussed with the Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull, how the Alliance and Australia can further strengthen their close partnership.
The Secretary General thanked Australia for increasing its contributions to NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and for the funding it provides to the Afghan security forces, which amounts to more than 400 million dollars so far. “Your strong commitment to Afghanistan makes us all safer and more secure,” stressed Mr. Stoltenberg.
Both NATO and Australia are members of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS and train Iraqi forces. At the Summit in July, NATO expects to launch a new training mission in Iraq, “this could be another area where NATO and Australia could join forces,” said the Secretary General.
NATO and Australia have a dialogue on issues such as Russia, North Korea and the Middle East. “Together, we are committed to upholding the international rules-based order,” said the Secretary General.