Defence Ministers made progress on improving NATO’s capabilities and interoperability and took stock of the mission in Afghanistan during their two-day talks at Alliance headquarters in Brussels.

On the first day NATO Defence Ministers agreedto expand exercises and multinational cooperation in order to preserve and further develop interoperability within the Alliance and make better use of technologyin line with the Connected Forces Initiative (CFI), launched in Chicago. In his intervention Minister Anu Anguelov stressed the proposition to create a network of national training facilities in support of the CFI, which Bulgaria expects to be included in the Implementation Plan and the NATO Training Concept 2015-2020.

The NATO ministers discussed in another session the implementation of the Chicago Defence Package, improving the Defence Planning Process and encouraging multinational cooperation in the development of capabilities, including with the participation of partners. Ministers also agreed that the Alliance should do more with NATO common funding to support Alliance’s priorities.

At the working dinner the ministers had a strategic discussion on securing Alliance’s capabilities for the future against a background of economic austerity and defence budget restrictions.

On Friday 22 February, Defence Ministers met for a session of the NATO-Ukraine Commission (NUC), and agreed on a set of priorities to guide cooperation over the next five years, including in training and exercises. 

At the closing session the NATO ministers, together with counterparts from partner nations, assessed the progress made in Afghanistan. Ministers also reinforced the commitment to the post-2014 mission to train, advise and assist the Afghan Security Forces.