Bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg: 23 April

The Prime Minister met NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in Warsaw today.

He set out the UK's historic plan to steadily increase defence spending to 2.5% and fire up our national defence industrial production, ensuring we remain the foremost military power in Europe and a core contributor to NATO operations.

The Prime Minister and Secretary-General discussed the growing threat from autocratic countries like Russia and Iran, which were increasingly aligned and assertive. They agreed on the importance of all NATO countries stepping up and keeping pace to support our collective defence, as well as industrial cooperation across the alliance.

The Prime Minister said supporting Ukraine's defence was also central to Europe's security, and they discussed progress towards Ukraine's membership of NATO. The Prime Minister looked forward to discussing this further at the NATO Washington Summit in July, and he invited the Secretary-General to attend the UK-hosted European Political Community Summit.