Opening statement by the Secretary General

Informal meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Foreign Ministerial Session

Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

A very good afternoon to you all -- and a warm welcome to beautiful Oslo for this Informal Meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the level of Foreign Ministers.

Let me extend a special welcome to Foreign Minister Verhagen of The Netherlands and Foreign Minister Cioroianu of Romania, who are joining us for the first time in this Council.

And I also welcome the EU representative Ms Claude-France Arnould. Many of the issues that we will be discussing here today and tomorrow concern the European Union as well as NATO, and so we will benefit from the EU’s presence.

Our meeting here in Oslo is an informal meeting.

But we certainly have a number of challenging issues to discuss, including in separate meetings with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, and tomorrow with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Yatsenyuk.

Afghanistan remains NATO’s number one priority. The Alliance’s active engagement has made possible enormous progress in Afghanistan. But it is progress that needs to be sustained and reinforced. The Alliance has already stepped up its contribution. We have increased the number of our troops in the country, and improved their usability. We are extending our training efforts for the Afghan National Army.

And we are building closer ties with Afghanistan’s neighbours, including Pakistan, which plays a crucial role in the long-term security of Afghanistan.

Clearly, building lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan cannot be done by NATO alone. A broader, concerted effort on the part of the international community is of the essence, especially in the area of civilian reconstruction and in response to the narcotics challenge. At the Summit in Riga last November, our Heads of State and Government underscored the need to better integrate military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan.

Here in Oslo we will review progress in implementing such a comprehensive approach, and discuss where and how NATO can make a more effective contribution.

Another important part of our agenda will be missile defence. We have been examining this issue in our Alliance for quite some time amongst Allies and with Russia. Here in Oslo we will exchange views on this important transatlantic issue. Any NATO approach on missile defence will be based on the principle that Allied security is indivisible.

And it will be based on continued transparency, as we will demonstrate in our discussions with our Russian colleague, Foreign Minister Lavrov, later today.

Demain, nous aurons un échange approfondi sur le Kosovo. Alors que le débat politique sur l’avenir du Kosovo progresse aux Nations Unies, à New York, nous allons souligner le soutien que nous apportons au règlement de la question du statut. Nous allons aussi discuter de la façon dont l’OTAN peut contribuer à assurer la réussite de ce processus, notamment grâce à une coopération plus étroite avec l'Union européenne.

Nous allons également procéder à une première évaluation des progrès accomplis par les trois pays participant à notre plan d’action pour l’adhésion. Nous examinons ce qu’ils devraient encore faire pour satisfaire aux normes, axées sur les résultats, que l’OTAN leur a fixées, et allons tenter de déterminer si nous pouvons faire davantage pour les aider. La porte de l’OTAN reste ouverte, et nous voulons aider ces pays candidats à réaliser les progrès nécessaires pour la franchir.

Mesdames et Messieurs,
Excellences,

Je me réjouis à la perspective de mener aujourd’hui à Oslo un débat franc et constructif sur ces différentes questions – un débat qui mettra l’accent sur le rôle essentiel que continue de jouer notre Alliance en rapprochant les deux rives de l’Atlantique et en offrant une enceinte unique en son genre pour le dialogue politique.

I would now like to give the floor to Foreign Minister Støre, but not before I thank him, the Norwegian Government, and the people of Norway, for their wonderful hospitality.