PM meets NATO Secretary General

The prime minister Keir Starmer has met with Mart Rutte, the new Secretary General of NATO.

Starmer hosted the former prime minister of the Netherlands at Downing Street.

The pair discussed the importance of a strong and united NATO in the face of ongoing Russian aggression and the prime minister set out the UK’s steadfast contribution to Allied forces, including through the UK’s nuclear deterrent, and said he said he looked forward to working closely with the NATO Secretary General in the coming months and years.

Elsewhere in the world, the two agreed that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro Atlantic regions was indivisible, and that strong relationships between NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners were vital to global stability.

They talked about the situation in the Middle East and the importance of de-escalation and a ceasefire.

Starmer and Rutte agreed to stay in close touch.