Today, Dr. Bill LaPlante, Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, concluded a week of bilateral and multilateral engagements in London and Brussels. This morning he co-chaired an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group National Armaments Directors at NATO Headquarters. Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Mr. Volodymyr Havrylov serves as co-chair for this group. Over 40 nations and representatives from the EU and NATO participated, and discussions focused on air defense and sustainment. This is the fourth meeting of the group. Partners and allies remain united in their support for Ukraine.
Earlier in the week Dr. LaPlante conducted a series of bilateral and multilateral engagements with partners and allies. He has signed a new Administrative Arrangement between the Department of Defense and the European Defence Agency. This arrangement provides for stronger transatlantic cooperation in defense and confirms the importance of a strong and more capable European defense that is complementary to and interoperable with NATO. He also participated in the NATO Conference of National Armaments Directors meeting.
