Missions in Afghanistan, Kosovo and improving defence capabilities topped the agenda of the two-day NATO defence ministerial meeting at Alliance headquarters in Brussels.
On the first day NATO Defence Ministers took stock of progress in improving Allied key defence capabilities in line with the decisions taken at the Lisbon and Chicago NATO Summits, stressing the progress made in the process of reforms and the need for more cooperation and on the better use of NATO’s common funds to improve capabilities.
In his intervention Minister Anu Anguelov underlined the importance of the steps already taken in implementing the Chicago Summit decisions. He stressed the need to find a balance between political debate and the practical work directed towards more cost-effective capabilities development in the current financial and economic crisis. Special attention was given to our commitment to the Connected Forces Initiative implementation. Minister Anguelov welcomed the recommendations for further enhancement of the NATO Defence Planning Process.
On the second day Defence Ministers from NATO and ISAF partner nations endorsed the first stage of planning for the post-2014 NATO-led Training, Advisory and Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which is to replace the current combat mission. This framework will guide NATO’s military authorities as they take the planning process forwards for this new mission.
NATO Defence Ministers and Ministers from non-NATO troop contributing nations discussed also the security situation in Kosovo. They affirmed that KFOR continues to play an indispensible role in Kosovo and made clear that they remain committed to sustaining that role. On the political front, Ministers welcomed the relaunching of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and urged all parties to implement previous agreements.