THE HAGUE — Heads of state and government from NATO member countries gathered in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday for the alliance’s annual summit, with a central focus on increasing defence spending, evaluating ongoing support for Ukraine, and reinforcing collective strategies to address evolving global security threats.
The high-level meeting, hosted by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, comes amid intensifying global tensions, particularly Russia’s sustained military aggression in Ukraine, rising threats from authoritarian regimes, and new security challenges in cyberspace and outer space.
Speaking at the opening session, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg urged member states to honour and exceed their defence spending commitments, especially the agreed 2% of GDP target. He described the current global security climate as “the most dangerous since the Cold War.”
“Our unity and strength depend on readiness and investment. We must meet our defence obligations not as a ceiling, but as a minimum,” Stoltenberg said.
The summit is also expected to solidify NATO’s long-term support for Ukraine, as the country continues to battle Russian forces more than two years after the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to address the summit virtually, appealing for sustained military aid, air defence systems, and future NATO membership assurances.
Leaders are also deliberating the alliance’s response to growing strategic partnerships between adversarial states such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, which have increasingly aligned on military and technological cooperation.
In addition to geopolitical concerns, discussions at the summit include plans to bolster cyber defence, improve rapid deployment capabilities, and expand intelligence-sharing frameworks among NATO members.
Security around The Hague has been significantly heightened, with Dutch authorities deploying additional law enforcement and military personnel to secure key venues and monitor airspace.
The summit is seen as a preparatory step ahead of the 75th anniversary NATO gathering scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., in July 2025, where major defence policy announcements and further enlargement discussions are anticipated.