Pedro Sánchez stresses importance of NATO having a 'comprehensive, detailed and practical' Action Plan for the South

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Pedro Sánchez stresses importance of NATO having a "comprehensive, detailed and practical" Action Plan for the South

President's News - 2024.7.10

Washington D.C. (United States)

EFE

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has taken part in the first session of the NATO Summit taking place in Washington D.C., United States, on 10 and 11 July. During the day, he held bilateral meetings with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jhonas Gahr Store, and the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić. He also spoke at the NATO Public Forum.

The NATO Summit is taking place in a context of extraordinary importance due to the current geopolitical situation. It also comes at a special time for the Alliance as it commemorates its 75th anniversary and it is also the first Summit in which Sweden participates as the 32nd partner. In this sense, the president of the Government of Spain defended the validity of a united and cohesive alliance to confront global threats.

The first working session brought together the North Atlantic Council, in which only the heads of state and government of the allied countries and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participate. The main issues addressed were strengthening the Alliance's Deterrence and Defence posture; support for Ukraine and its future NATO membership; defence investment commitment; and the Action Plan for the South.

On Ukraine, the outstanding issues have been closed in order to offer Ukraine a support package with robust and sustainable long-term measures that institutionalise such support and which the president of the Government of Spain has endorsed in order to send a clear message to Russia that assistance to Ukraine will be effective and sustained over time. Furthermore, the president said that the process of Ukraine becoming part of "the Euro-Atlantic family" is "irreversible" and that this support is "a bridge" towards NATO membership.

The meeting also provided an opportunity to collectively take stock of the implementation of the defence investment commitment. The president of the Government of Spain has defended Spain's clear commitment to the goal of defence spending equalling 2% as a percentage of GDP and a path to achieving it by 2029. Since 2016, the real growth in defence spending is 77% over eight years, almost 10% per year.

In addition, Spain exceeds the 20% investment in new systems, devoting 30.3% to major equipment and R&D. And it maintains a very significant contribution to NATO missions, with 1,945 military personnel deployed in NATO operations alone.

Another issue discussed at the session was the strengthening of the Deterrence and Defence posture. In this regard, the Annual Report has been endorsed to reflect the state of implementation of the agreed position in this regard and to provide policy guidance for further adaptation. The president of the Government of Spain stressed that Spain is proportionally the fourth largest ally that contributes to this aspect and recognised the importance and need to reinforce the Eastern flank, while at the same time advocating a 360º approach to also pay special attention to the Southern flank.

In this regard, the president of the Government of Spain insisted during the meeting that NATO should also call for respect for international law in Gaza as it does in Ukraine. The strength of the Alliance lies in unity and this, he explained, must go hand in hand with coherence.

NATO Public Forum

The president of the Government of Spain spoke at the NATO Public Forum, which is being held in parallel to the Summit. In his speech, he highlighted the value of the Action Plan for the South presented at the Summit, which represents a qualitative leap in relations with partners, reinforcing political dialogue with them and other relevant actors in the region, thus giving continuity to the Madrid Strategic Concept. In order to materialise in practice and consolidate it, Spain has supported the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary General for the South.

He also stressed the importance of the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel for peace and prosperity in the Euro-Atlantic region. Sánchez described the approval of the Action Plan as "excellent news" because "for the first time, the Alliance will have a complete, detailed and practical roadmap for working with our Southern partners". This roadmap includes "more political dialogue and cooperation", as well as the defence of multilateralism by working more with international organisations such as the African Union, the Arab League and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

President Sánchez stressed that this "is a big step for NATO", which will now work more closely with southern partners on "critical issues such as terrorism, climate change, maritime security and resilience".

Bilateral meetings with Norway and Montenegro

The president of the Government of Spain also held bilateral meetings on the fringes of the Summit. The first of these was with the Prime Minister of Norway, Jhonas Gahr Store, with whom he discussed the situation in the Middle East.

Both leaders agreed that Spain and Norway have taken a historic step towards peace and justice with the recognition of the State of Palestine, and that they will continue to work to achieve the two-state solution, the only way to achieve a just and lasting peace in the region.

The president also met with the Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić. Pedro Sánchez praised the reforms undertaken by the country on its path to EU accession and conveyed Spain's support in the process to ensure a European future for Montenegro.

Non official translation