UPDATE - North Atlantic Council begins meeting with Indo-Pacific partners, Sweden, EU in Vilnius

ADDS TWEET BY NATO CHIEF

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AA) – On day two of the NATO summit in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, the North Atlantic Council on Wednesday began a meeting with heads of state and government of Indo-Pacific partners, prospective member Sweden, and the EU.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed all of the participants in his opening remarks and underlined: "NATO is a regional alliance between Europe and North America, but the challenges we face are global and our security is interconnected.

"What happens in the Euro-Atlantic region matters to the Indo-Pacific and what happens in the Indo-Pacific matter to the Euro-Atlantic," Stoltenberg said, noting that the 14-month-old war in Ukraine continues to have global ramifications.

Warning that authoritarian regimes are coming closer together, he urged: "We must stand together ... for international order."

Later in a tweet, Stoltenberg said: "Good meetings with NATO's close partners Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea."

He reiterated that security is not regional but global and added that they “are determined to continue deepening our cooperation."

The North Atlantic Council, NATO’s principle decision-making body, is made up of the member states’ permanent representatives, including Zeki Levent Gumrukcu for Türkiye.

Türkiye has been a member of NATO for over 70 years, and boasts its second-largest army.