Lee is expected to meet with leaders from other Asia-Pacific countries
On the sidelines of the summit, Lee is expected to hold talks with Rutte and join a meeting with NATO’s three other Asia-Pacific partners: Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also confirmed on Friday that he would attend the summit, according to Kyodo News.
Koizumi will become the first Japanese defence minister to participate in such a gathering. He said Rutte had, for the first time, invited the defence ministers of NATO’s four Asia-Pacific partners to related events during the summit.
NATO first invited the leaders of Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea to its summit in Madrid in 2022.
Türkiye’s National Defence Ministry said the upcoming summit would mark a “significant turning point”, reaffirming the Alliance’s commitment to collective defence and underscoring Ankara’s strategic role within NATO.
RelatedTRT World – Türkiye’s NATO summit a ‘significant turning point’ for collective defence: Ankara
