On Friday (24 March 2023), Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoor to NATO Headquarters. They discussed NATO’s role in protecting critical undersea infrastructure critical to Allied security. Last week, the two visited her Troll A natural gas platform off the coast of Norway with her European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Stoltenberg stressed that NATO is stepping up its work to secure critical infrastructure, strengthening its military presence, enhancing situational awareness, and strengthening cooperation with international partners and the private sector. emphasized that there is
Stoltenberg said the alliance will work to understand and address the challenges of the Arctic, including by hosting NATO exercises like the recently concluded Joint Viking, the largest military winter exercise in Arctic Europe in 2023. I thanked Prime Minister Gafrstorre for Norway’s leading role in supporting He also thanked Norway for its other contributions to NATO, including its service in the Lithuanian multinational combat group. He stressed the need to continue to support Ukraine because it is resisting war.
The two leaders also mentioned the accession of Finland and Sweden. “We welcome Turkiye and Hungary’s readiness to ratify Finland’s NATO membership. We hope that both sides will do it quickly,” Stoltenberg said. Their accession makes NATO stronger and shows that NATO’s doors remain open.