The Ankara NATO Summit will play a crucial role in shaping the future of the alliance, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said as NATO leaders gathered in the Turkish capital for a two-day meeting. He said the summit comes at a time when global security challenges are becoming increasingly complex and require stronger coordination among allied nations.
In a message shared on X, Fidan said Türkiye is fully prepared to host NATO member states under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He described the gathering as a defining moment for the alliance and expressed confidence that important decisions would be made to strengthen NATO’s long-term strategic direction.
According to Fidan, the decisions taken during the summit will not only address current security concerns but will also influence the Euro-Atlantic security environment for years to come. He emphasized that the alliance must continue adapting to rapidly evolving threats that now extend across multiple domains.
The Turkish foreign minister noted that collective defence remains NATO’s core mission, but argued that traditional measures are no longer enough to evaluate military preparedness. He said greater importance should be given to deployable military capabilities, industrial production capacity and operational readiness to meet modern security demands.
Fidan also stressed the importance of increasing Europe’s contribution to NATO while calling for broader defence-industrial cooperation among all alliance members. He warned that restrictions on cooperation reduce efficiency, delay responses and weaken the alliance’s overall ability to respond to emerging threats.
Highlighting the need for institutional reforms, Fidan said NATO must rethink how it organizes cooperation among member states. He added that the Ankara Summit provides an opportunity to align the alliance’s structures with today’s strategic realities and strengthen its ability to respond effectively to future challenges.
The Turkish minister concluded by saying Türkiye’s objective is to help build a more coherent, capable and resilient NATO. As leaders continue discussions in Ankara, the summit is expected to focus on defence cooperation, regional security, military readiness and the alliance’s future strategy in an increasingly uncertain global environment.
