On Tuesday (5 October), speaking at an event hosted by Brookings Institute and Georgetown University in Washington D.C., NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: "The need for transatlantic unity is greater today than at any time since the end of the Cold War". "We must always take our differences seriously and address them, but they do not change the big picture: the importance of Europe and North America standing together in NATO", he added.
The Secretary General emphasized the importance of NATO in facing a more dangerous and competitive world, saying: "in NATO we are not alone. Together we represent 30 different nations, one billion people, half of the world's economic and military might. And together we are adapting to a more uncertain world". He stated that "we are shifting our efforts and resources from large combat operations outside NATO territory to further strengthen our deterrence and defence at home, and prepare for a world of greater state to state rivalry", and underlined that this shift taken together with modernizing NATO will contribute directly to our shared security.
