NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte assessed Turkey's importance for the alliance's future security strategy ahead of the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara on July 7-8. Rutte described Turkey as one of the alliance's strongest armies and drew attention to the progress the country has made in its defense industry in recent years.
Turkey is extremely important. One of the strongest armies in the alliance; extremely well-equipped and trained. It also has a massive defense industry advantage.
Rutte noted that Turkey has been one of the alliance's largest military powers since joining NATO in 1952, and said the country's defense industry has seen significant development especially in the last 5-10 years. According to the Secretary General's assessment, around 3,000 companies operate in Turkey's defense industry ecosystem.
Rutte stressed that Turkey's geographical location and its leadership within the alliance are critical for NATO's security architecture.
Defense industry leg of the summit
The Secretary General had stated that the summit in Ankara would focus on defense spending, increasing the production capacity of the defense industry, and sustaining support for Ukraine. As part of the summit, a Defense Industry Forum is being held in Ankara on July 7; Rutte said the forum's purpose is to showcase not only Turkey's but the alliance's overall defense industry capacity.
Rutte noted that "credible spending plans" in line with the allies' goal of allocating 5 percent of their gross domestic product to defense would also be among the summit's priority topics.
Ankara Summit
The 36th NATO Summit is being held in Ankara on July 7-8, hosted by Turkey. Leaders of the 32 member countries are attending the summit chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte; Turkey is hosting a NATO summit for the second time, 22 years after the 2004 Istanbul Summit.
