Poland's input into NATO’s next Strategic Concept
13.12.2021
Poland, together with Great Britain and Portugal, organized a seminar on deterrence and defense - the first in a series of thematic consultations as part of work on the next Strategic Concept of the Alliance.
The full-day seminar was opened by the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg. The introduction was made by Minister of National Defense Mariusz Błaszczak. He recalled that "at the next year's Madrid Summit, the hopes and expectations of the Allies are to be translated into strategic guidelines for the Alliance and its political and military activities." The minister also presented a detailed position on the content of the future concept. He expressed his hope that the new document "will consolidate NATO's achievements, as well as confirm the principles and values that have contributed to its success in recent decades," and "will help to further adapt NATO (...) to new challenges and threats."
In addition to the Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Poland, introductory remarks were also made by the Portuguese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco André and the United Kingdom's Minister of State for Middle East and North Africa James Cleverly.
The seminar gathered outstanding representatives of the world of science who specialize in the issues of deterrence and recognized experts from think tanks such as Chatham House, RUSI, and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Polish side was attended by: Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army, Maj. Gen. Piotr Błazeusz, Justyna Gotkowska of the Center for Eastern Studies and Lukasz Kulesa of the Polish Institute of International Affairs. Permanent Representatives to NATO, representatives of the International Secretariat and International Military Staff also took part in the discussion.
The seminar organized jointly by the Permanent Representations of Poland, Portugal and the UK to NATO showed that Poland is actively participating in consultations on the future shape of the key document of the Alliance - the Strategic Concept. The participation of Polish representatives in the discussion ensured that the Polish position on the most important issues from the perspective of Poland's security and NATO's eastern flank was clearly emphasized.
Permanent Delegation of Poland to NATO
