Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš to NATO Headquarters on Wednesday (24 May 2023), thanking the Prime Minister for Latvia's contributions to the Alliance, including leadership on defence spending, and deployments to maritime operations and missions in Kosovo and Iraq.
Mr Stoltenberg also thanked Prime Minister Kariņš for Latvia's substantial political and military support to Ukraine, including through NATO's comprehensive assistance package, and by providing training - together with Canada - for thousands of Ukrainian soldiers.
Looking ahead to the NATO Summit in July, the Secretary General outlined his expectations, saying: "It is vital that we step up and sustain our support to ensure Ukraine prevails as a free and sovereign nation. In Vilnius we will also continue to strengthen our own deterrence and defence - with new regional defence plans, a new force model, and a strengthened command structure. And I expect we will agree on an ambitious new defence investment pledge in Vilnius with 2 percent of GDP as a floor, not a ceiling."
