September 13, 2019
Release
Readout: Under Secretary of Defense for Policy John Rood Hosts Nordic-Baltic-U.S. Forum
Under Secretary Rood hosted representatives from the Nordic and Baltic countries for the Nordic-Baltic-U.S. Forum, held in Washington, D.C., and at U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Norfolk, VA. Mr. Rood was joined by ADM Christopher Grady, Commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) and VADM Andrew Lewis, Commander, U.S. 2nd Fleet and NATO-Joint Forces Command Norfolk.
The group discussed opportunities to strengthen the Nordic-Baltic-U.S. defense relationship by improving regional maritime domain awareness and maritime capabilities in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic. They also addressed regional security challenges, including capability gaps and interoperability challenges through the lens of the National Defense Strategy with a focus on great power competition. Mr. Rood praised the group for continuing to meet on an annual basis to make progress on regional security issues and improve trans-Atlantic ties. Mr. Rood encouraged the participants to continue to increase defense spending, make prudent defense investments, improve interoperability with the United States and NATO, and to close capability gaps. Finally, Mr. Rood noted that the United States looks forward to continuing its participation in this valuable forum.
Heads of Delegation:
John Rood, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, USA
Thomas Ahrenkiel, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Denmark
Kristjan Prikk, Under Secretary for Defense Policy, Estonia
Jukka Juusti, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Finland
Bergdís Ellertsdóttir, Ambassador-Designate to the United States of America, Iceland
Jānis Garisons, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Latvia
Vytautas Umbrasas, Vice-Minister of National Defence, Lithuania
Tone Skogen, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Norway
Jan-Olaf Lind, State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Sweden
https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/1926383/
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
