NATO Military Committee Conference – Tirana, Albania - Main contents

The Military Committee, NATO’s highest Military Authority, will meet in Chiefs of Defence (CHoDs) Session from 15-17 September 2017, in Tirana, Albania. The meeting will be hosted by the Albanian Chief of the General Staff, Brigadier General Bardhyl Kollçaku.

The Chiefs of Defence will discuss further implementation of the Projecting Stability concept, the security situation in the Western Balkans region and provide recommendations for the way ahead for the RESOLUTE SUPPORT Mission in Afghanistan and Kosovo Force (KFOR). The CHoDs will exchange views on NATO’s Adaptation and receive briefings on the current status of the NATO Command Structure review. Finally, they will elect the next Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, who will take office in 2018.

During their first session of the day, the Chiefs of Defence will discuss the Projecting Stability concept focusing on near and long term delivery of strategic objectives, and on the coherence of our activities. They will review the progress of NATO’s engagement in the Fight against Terrorism, the Defence Capacity Building Initiative, the NATO Training and Capacity Building in Iraq and the implementation for the Hub for the South. The Western Balkans region will receive a special focus during this session.

NATO’s Adaptation will be the focus of the second session. The CHoDs will receive briefings from both Strategic Commanders, General Scaparrotti, Supreme Allied Commander - Europe and General Mercier, Supreme Allied Commander -Transformation. The Chiefs of Defence will provide additional guidance on the NATO Command Structure Review, ahead of the November Defence Ministerial.

The third session will focus on our RESOLUTE SUPPORT Mission and KFOR. The Chiefs of Defence will receive briefings from Commander RESOLUTE SUPPORT, General Nicholson, and the Senior Civilian Representative, Ambassador Cornelius Zimmermann on Afghanistan while Commander KFOR, Major General Fungo will provide a briefing on Kosovo. The CHoDs will provide recommendations for both missions taking into account the security situation on the ground.

In their final session, the Chiefs of Defence will elect the next Chairman of the Military Committee, who will take office in 2018.

The Military Committee Conference will be chaired by General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee. He will be supported in each session by General Curtis M. Scaparrotti (Supreme Allied Commander Europe or SACEUR) and General Denis Mercier (Supreme Allied Commander Transformation or SACT).

The Military Committee meets twice a year at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, at the level of Chiefs of Defence to discuss NATO operations and missions and provide the North Atlantic Council with consensus-based military advice on how the Alliance can best meet global security challenges, and once a year they meet in an Allied member country. On a day-to-day basis, their work is carried out by permanent Military Representatives at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Media Opportunities

Friday 15 Sep 2017

18:35-18:55

Official Welcome Ceremony (Brigade Palace)

Saturday 16 Sep 2017

08:35-08:50

Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session (Tirana International Hotel)

• - 

  Opening remarks by the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, General Petr Pavel
• - 

  Opening remarks by the Prime Minister of Albania, His Excellency Mr. Edi Rama

18:00-18:30

Joint Press conference with General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and Brigadier General Bardhyl Kollçaku, Chief of the Albanian Armed Forces (Tirana International Hotel)

Imagery

After each event, photos, video and audio files will be made available on the NATO IMS webpage www.nato.int/ims, as well as the MC Conference events page.

Accreditation

Only accredited media will get press passes for the NATO Military Committee Conference in Albania. Requests for accreditation will be processed electronically. The forms, photo (if possible) and required copies of the documents should be sent by e-mail to: eni.hotaj@mod.gov.al. Please use the following title in the subject of your e-mail: "Accreditation NATO MCC 2017". Accreditation forms must be sent by 18:00 pm on 12 September 2017. Forms delivered after this date may be refused.

Passes must be worn visibly at all times, and security personnel may ask to see another form of ID at any time. We would like to inform the media that security checks will be conducted separately prior to every media event. For this reason, media are expected to arrive at least an hour before the events.

Social Media

We will post the latest information and pictures from the Conference on our official Twitter accounts: @CMC_NATO and @NATO_PASCAD. Please use the hashtags #NATOCHoDs and #NATOMC when tweeting about the Military Committee Conference.

Enquiries

Points of Contact for Public Affairs and Strategic Communication for the Military Committee Conference 2017:

Lieutenant Colonel Kasem Saliasi,

Public Affairs and Strategic Communications Officer, Albania Armed Forces.

Tel: +355 692 207 922

E-mail: kasem.saliasi@aaf.mil.al

Points of contact for the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee:

Dr. Eva Svobodova,

Public Affairs and Strategic Communications Advisor to the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and NATO International Military Staff

Tel: + 32 475 75 75 61

E-Mail: svobodova.eva@hq.nato.int

Ms. Elizabeth Steenson,

Public Affairs Officer, NATO International Military Staff

Tel: + 32 475 75 75 23

E-Mail: steenson.elizabeth@hq.nato.int