On Tuesday, 1 June 2021, the Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos participated, via teleconference, in the summer Meeting of NATO Defence Ministers, during which the preparation for the Summit, on 14 June 2021, was discussed.

During the discussion for the procedure “NATO 2030”, Mr. Panagiotopoulos pointed out that our country supports the implementation of a new generation operational plans that will cover the whole Europe, taking also under consideration new sources of concern with regard to the Allies in the Southern Flank, like terrorism and the phenomenon of massive immigration flows.

In addition, the Minister of National Defence supported the ambitious goals expected to be approved by the Alliance, concerning the cooperation among the member-states with regard to resilience of critical state infrastructures and services, and the coping with the consequences of climate change to security.

Regarding investments in new technologies, Mr. Panagiotopoulos pointed out that our country will support the planned initiatives, aiming at the multilateral cooperation regarding new programs of defence capabilities among Allies. He also assessed that NATO’s clear orientation regarding the so called “emerging technologies” provides new extroversion opportunities to the defence industry of the Alliance’s countries, and especially to start-up operations.

Finally, the Minister of National Defence pointed out our country’s support to the prospect of extending the allied fuel distribution system to the East Flank of NATO, indicating that the infrastructures in North-Eastern Greece provide important and financially viable opportunities, for the implementation of the specific program.