PRAGUE–(ENEWSPF)–7 September 2011. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen discussed the importance of Smart Defence and multinational cooperation with the leaders of the Czech Republic in Prague on 19 May.
“In times of austerity, every euro and every crown counts. We will have to find ways of sharing our resources, so we give our Alliance the capabilities it needs,” the Secretary General said after talks with Prime Minister Petr Necas.
Rasmussen praised the Czech Republic’s commitment to NATO operations and to multinational cooperation in meetings with Prime Minister Necas, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and Defence Minister Alexandr Vondra.
“To all Czech soldiers in NATO operations, I say: NATO is proud of you. You are doing a vital job and you are doing it well. You are a credit to your nation and to your families, and I thank you for your dedication to our shared security,” Rasmussen said.
The Czech Republic contributes 620 soldiers to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan and 97 soldiers to the NATO mission in Kosovo, and hosts a Multinational Logistics Coordination Centre in Prague, allowing NATO Allies and partners to coordinate and improve their support for operations.
This is an example of Smart Defence – a concept which encourages nations to maintain and improve their capabilities despite the economic crisis by coordinating their efforts and making better use of resources.
Smart Defence will be a key theme of NATO’s planned summit in Chicago in May 2012, together with issues such as NATO’s Enduring Partnership with Afghanistan, missile defence, and relations with Russia. In Chicago,
“I hope that we will be able to declare NATO’s missile defences operational, and to agree on creating two joint information centres with Russia. This would allow us to overcome new threats and old suspicions at the same time,” the Secretary General said.
Source: nato.int
