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NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Future of NATO

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen

LISBON – NATO’s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen addressed the the Youth Summit here as leaders of the alliance approved the final draft of NATO’s new Strategic Concept.

Rasmussen, the former Prime Minister of Denmark, said the ambitious agenda — which focuses on the future of long-term operations in Afghanistan, extensive partnerships with numerous countries, including Russia, and continental missile defense – represents a “major step in NATO’s reform.”

Rasmussen also addressed the current economic realities facing member countries, noting that efficiency and prioritization, particularly in terms of the development of security capabilities, would be critical in both the short and long term.  He also took questions from a group of “young Atlantcists” on hand from, various NATO member and partner countries at the event.

 

Author

Robert Nolan

Robert Nolan is Editor-in-Chief of New Media at the Foreign Policy Association and a writer and producer of the Great Decisions Television Series on PBS. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Zimbabwe and graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, he has interviewed numerous heads of state, Nobel Prize winners, artists and musicians, and policymakers.