NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte praised Türkiye's strategic importance to the alliance on Monday, highlighting its military capabilities, defense industry and geographic position ahead of this week's NATO leaders' summit in Ankara.
Speaking at a news conference in the Turkish capital, Rutte said hosting the summit in Ankara reflected Türkiye's central role within the alliance.
"Your leadership in NATO is important. Your place on the map is important. Holding the summit here in Ankara is very important," he said.
Rutte described Türkiye as one of NATO's key contributors to collective defense, pointing to its armed forces and expanding defense industrial base.
"Türkiye plays a very important role in defense. It has one of NATO's best armed forces," he said.
He also praised the country's defense industry, saying it had made significant progress over the past decade and now plays an important role in supplying capabilities needed by the alliance.
"There are thousands of companies in Türkiye producing everything NATO needs," Rutte said.
He said Türkiye's strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, the Black Sea and the Middle East further strengthens its value to the alliance.
"Ankara, Istanbul and Türkiye as a whole are very important. Your location on the map, your geographical position and your leadership are all important," he said.
Rutte added that Türkiye's role extends beyond geography, emphasizing its growing defense production capacity and long-standing contributions to NATO operations.
He reiterated that the alliance values Türkiye as the host of this year's summit, which brings together leaders from NATO's 32 member states to discuss defense spending, transatlantic security, support for Ukraine and other key security challenges.
"We are very pleased that Türkiye is hosting this summit," Rutte said, calling the country an indispensable ally for NATO's future security.
