On Friday (21 June 2024), NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrapped up his trip to the United States and Canada, in preparation for the upcoming Summit in Washington D.C. in July.
During his visit, Mr Stoltenberg unveiled new defence expenditure figures across the Alliance, highlighting the biggest increase in defence spending across European Allies and Canada for decades - up 18 percent this year. He further announced that 23 Allies will invest at least 2 percent of GDP in defence this year.
On Thursday, Mr Stoltenberg met with U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan. Their discussion focused on strengthening Allied resilience, further boosting transatlantic defence industry and supporting Ukraine for the long term. He also met with Congressman Mike Turner and Congressman Gerry Connolly.
On Wednesday in Ottawa, Mr Stoltenberg thanked Canada for its many contributions to NATO, and stressed the importance of Allies spending at least 2% of GDP on defence. He met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, and delivered a speech at an event hosted by the NATO Association of Canada and the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association.
On Tuesday, at a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C., Mr Stoltenberg welcomed an historic improvement in burden sharing within NATO. He outlined that since 2014, Europe and Canada "have added over 640 billion extra in defence spending." The Secretary General also met with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and members of the Senate NATO Observer Group.
On Monday, Mr Stoltenberg met with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House where he announced the new defence spending figures and outlined priorities for the upcoming Summit, including urgent support to Ukraine. He also delivered a speech at the Wilson Center, emphasising that keeping Europe safe and NATO strong is in the vital national interest of the United States.
