Defence industry urged to cooperate more closely

NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow on Thursday (14 November) called on senior representatives from defence industry and Allied governments to forge closer ties.

Defence industry, Allies urged to cooperate more closely at Istanbul NATO-Industry Forum

NATO Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Alexander Vershbow on Thursday (14 November 2013) called on senior representatives from defence industry and Allied governments to forge closer ties at this year’s NATO-Industry Forum held in Istanbul, Turkey. “We are faced with increasingly complex global security challenges and shrinking defence budgets in many of our NATO nations. These two factors combined mean that effective security today requires a new level of multinational cooperation,” Ambassador Vershbow said.

This year’s forum focuses on the need for a closer dialogue between NATO and industry to ensure the Alliance receives the best value for money in an era of budgetary constraints. The Deputy Secretary General said NATO was keen “to promote a new level of cooperation” between Allies and industry. “Today’s forum will help us to identify how best to deliver the capabilities we need to ensure the Alliance can continue to provide for our security well into the future,” he said.

Ambassador Vershbow and the Turkish Ministry of Defence Under Secretary Murad Bayar opened the forum’s plenary session which also included a video message from NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen. The Secretary General stressed that effective defence requires effective capabilities. “To deliver such effective capabilities an effective defence industry matters very much too,” he said. He called on forum participants to come up with concrete proposals to contribute to the preparation for next year’s NATO Summit in the United Kingdom, which will focus on ensuring that the Alliance has the right range of capabilities needed to face the security challenges of the future.

Source: NATO.