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Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák meets NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg

Ministry of Defence of The Slovak Republic

14.11.2023

Yesterday (Monday 13 November 2023), Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák travelled to Brussels, where he is attending a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) of the European Union (EU) with Defence Ministers today. On the eve of the FAC meeting, Defence Minister Robert Kaliňák met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Also in attendance at the bilateral meeting was Foreign and European Affairs Minister Juraj Blanár. The main themes on the agenda of the meeting with NATO's top official were the SVK Government's security and defence priorities and the future of Slovakia's support to Ukraine.

The Defence Minister informed the NATO Secretary General about the end of Slovakia's military aid to Ukraine from the country's own military stocks. Nevertheless, Slovakia offers a sufficiently wide range of humanitarian, civilian, and technical non-lethal assistance to Ukraine. Our foreign partners fully respect the new SVK Government's decision.

The goal of the new SVK MOD leadership is to strengthen the Slovak Armed Forces' capacities and capabilities so as to deliver the security of the State and its citizens. In doing so, equipment modernisation programmes will be directed towards minimising any risk to the lives of service personnel. At the same time, Minister Kaliňák emphasised that Slovakia is a responsible partner who is ready to build defence capabilities, both nationally and collectively.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg appreciated the new SVK Government's intent to take forward the modernisation of the Slovak Armed Forces, encourage the growth of the defence industry, and invest in defence infrastructure projects. He also highlighted Slovakia's progress on NATO Capability Targets, including Slovakia's efforts to renew its independent Air Defence Capability. During the bilateral meeting, both leaders confirmed that the Alliance and the Slovak Republic will continue to work together to increase the readiness, deployability and interoperability of armed forces.